If you're a fan of the great soul/jazz/spoken-word artist Gil Scott-Heron you're also a fan of Brian Jackson.

Not only was he the composer behind most of Heron's classic jams, but he also played on them as well, laying down those signature Fender Rhodes grooves.

He's currently on tour with reunited '90s hip-hop act Digable Planets, playing keys in their back-up band, and is working on a project with reggae legends U-Roy and Scientist as well. He discusses both projects in this interview conducted by Dennis Cook for Jambase.com where he also touches on topics such as his past, present & future with Gil Scott-Heron, his "old world" influences, the roots of the conscious spirit that imbued so much of he & Heron's work, and even his feelings about sampling.

"Number one, I do not mind sampling. I do it myself, and I really don't have any problem with loops and samples. On the other hand, I do have a problem with someone who's using samples to get out of learning how to play. You hear something that you like, and you want to snatch it and build on it, fine. We sampled ourselves. We didn't have a sampler or a computer that we could load a wave file on, but we sampled things with our ears. Getting back to The Tradition, I think it's very important to maintain the tradition of actually physically playing an instrument. Even I worry about the electricity going out because I can't carry a Steinway [piano] on my back (laughs). And even a Fender Rhodes without power is not going to carry very far. I worry that it's so simple to just stop all the music. You got to have it in your hands, and it has to be in your brain."

The current Digable Planets tour, which Jackson is presumably a part of, will hit The Roxy in Boston on July 8th and Toad's Place in New Haven on July 9th.

And if you've never heard any of Brian Jackson and Gil Scott-Heron's music I suggest you check it out post-haste. A song like "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" seems like the no-brainer choice for a place to start, but I gotta recommend "In The Bottle" as well as it's one of my personal favorites.

To coincide with the release of his new single and video for "Black Stacey," Saul Williams has released a new mixtape called 'Real Niggery, Vol. 1.' featuring remixes, freestyles and exclusives from "Hip Hop's poet laureate."

You can download the mixtape courtesy of Catchdubs as a Windows friendly Zip file, or as a Sit file for you Mac people. Just right click the appropriate link and "save as."

And when you're done doing that make sure you peep the new video for Saul's "Black Stacey" too!

Saul Williams "Black Stacey"

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At least none that you'll be seeing anyway.

The sex tape ( which the Empress reported on here not much more than 24 hours ago ) featuring Eve being plugged with a dildo by her ex-boyfriend has been removed from the interweb at the behest of the platinum-tressed rapper/actress... and her attorney of course.

According to a representative for Eve, "This is a personal tape that was made years ago with her boyfriend of over two years. The fact that a private moment is being made public is a violation, and we would hope that people would respect her privacy as they would their own. Legal action has been taken to have it removed immediately."

She should be relieved the tape wasn't of a sapphic orgy between her, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Queen Pen. That would have been truly news-worthy!

Then again, maybe she should've been happy this tape started making the rounds? After all, it was the most press she's gotten in years.

Attention bedroom-producers and DJ's... Hip-hop band Crown City Rockers ( a multi-ethnic crew of musicians trained at Boston's Berklee School of Music, fronted by Pasadena-bred emcee Raashan Ahmad ) are offering up free downloads of the acapellas for their entire 'Earthtones' album for your remixing pleasure!

All you've got to do is download one ( or all ) of the acapellas, cook up a remix ( or remixes ) of some sort and send it back to them at the e-mail address specified on that page.

They say they'll be posting the 5 best remixes up on the site and a message board post by one of the dudes from the band alluded to the possibility of some other prize being involved. But don't quote me on that.

I might get in on this myself, but then I might not, in which case you actually have a chance of winning. So get on it!

The $100,000 "iced out" Terror Squad medallion worn by deceased rapper Big Pun is being auctioned off on eBay by his widow and surviving children in an effort to raise funds with which to support themselves.

The Medallion is Yellow Gold dipped in White Gold, roughly 598 grams. There are approximately 1728 baguette diamonds, and approximately 173 round diamonds in the medallion. The winning bidder of this auction will travel to New York (flight expenses will be deducted from the total) where they will receive the T.S. medallion personally from Liza Rios.

The sale of this medallion goes to Big Pun's wife and three children. Since Pun's untimely passing in 2000, Pun's wife has struggled to raise their three children as well as make mortgage payments on their home and other expenses. Contrary to what some believe, the family are far from millionaires, Pun's wife and children do not receive royalty checks for Pun's first two albums, and only one small royalty check was paid for Pun's final album. The family's attempts to get the money due to his children have been unsuccessful to date. By bidding on this piece of Hip Hop history, you are helping the family of a Rap legend, part of the funds will also go towards legal efforts to retrieve any unpaid album sale money the children could receive.

Why somebody close to the rapper like Fat Joseph doesn't just "lean back" in thier chair, pull out thier credit card and pony up the dough for the chain in honor of their friend and former ghostwriter is beyond me.

Sometimes the Okayplayer message boards are good for more than just posts about how much other people make fun of the Okayplayer message boards. Yep, sometimes somebody like johnbook posts up something worthwhile, like a link to something like this.

The this in question being an unbelievably dope remix of Edan's "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme" by some kid from Canada who calls himself Beat Chemist that apparently makes some really ill beats.

Edan "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme ( Beat Chemist Remix )" [MP3]

It's a Mega Upload link, so click through and wait the 45 seconds it'll take for the download to start. Trust me, it's worth it.

Dude laced the track lovely with a crazy raw drum break and some Afro Beat sounding horn samples that totally kill shit on the chorus part. It's just the type of lovliness you need on a sweltering hot June afternoon.

If you get a chance make sure you peep dudes website ( linked above ) where there are more remixes and shit, or his Live Journal which is where the link to this remix originated from in the first place.

Our man Emeyesi was so amped to see UK electronic rockers Kasabian in Boston a couple months back that he actually puked on himself in excitement! A picture was even taken of his upchuck-stained pants-leg! But we can't show it to you because our good-friend Zahira is a sucker who won't share her pictures with her fellow bloggers and is apparently too busy keeping secrets to actually post 'em herself. So, until a day arrives when she's more interested in being unbelievably dope like us than she is in playing kissy-face with mystery men you're just gonna have to be content with this picture of Emeyesi rocking his Kasabian t-shirt in his bedroom, sans vomit, instead.

Oh, and links to Kasabian's new video too of course.

Kasabian "L.S.F."

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I know it's exciting, but if you feel the need to shout "Europe" just make sure you go do it over the sink, not on your leg.

Youthfully named Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy is being hailed as "the next big thing" to emerge from the southern hip-hop scene by folks in the industry. But he's not content to just conquer the world of commercial rap thuggery. No, what he really wants to do is rekindle young people's love affair with reading!

He plans to revolutionize the world of youth publishing by releasing a self-help manual called 'Thug Motivation 101' which also happens to be the title of his forthcoming debut solo LP.

"They might not read, because there isn't anything interesting," Jeezy told AllHipHop.com. "You know, they read magazines or whatever, but n***as don't take time to sit down and analyze s**t, break s**t down. When it's somebody that you are interested in, you sit down and take that time."

Yeah, sure Jeezy, despite the fact that there's a few thousand years worth of written words at their disposal there just isn't anything "interesting" for kids to read. But you, a guy who can barely string together a few words for a coherent rap song are gonna be the one to change all that. Right.

If you're curious as to what the lyrical genius who is going to get kids everywhere running back to schools, libraries and book stores with a renewed thrist for intellectual refinement sounds like just peep the audio for his song "And Then What" below.

Young Jeezy "And Then What"

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Maybe if Mannie Fresh figures out a way to lace Jeezy's book with the same sizzling hi-hats, booming 808 kicks and fly snare rolls he hooked up for this song it'll be tolerable. But I can't see anybody finding this guy's words "interesting" without an infectious "bounce" track backing 'em up.

Sorry Jeezy, but cats like Shakespear, Dostoyevzky and Vonnegut didn't have to prop themselves up with big name producers to get over, so I don't see you usurping their place in the world of literature any time soon.

Noted counter-cultural icon, independent thinker, filmmaker, author, playwright and musician Melvin Van Peebles has signed to Stones Throw and announced the forthcoming release of a double album set recorded with Madlib called 'Brer Soul Meets Quasimoto.'

Fans of the Quasimoto records shouldn't be surprised, as samples from Van Peebles' work often feature heavily in those projects.

Aqueduct is good music.

Aqueduct is on Barsuk Records.

Aqueduct is in my CD player.

Aqueduct is in my iPod.

Aqueduct is on my TV.

Aqueduct is on MY computer.

Aqueduct is on YOUR computer.

Filthy English-man Noel Gallagher of Oasis may hate pretty much everybody, but his hatred of 50 Cent and Eminem is something I can totally co-sign.

NG: I fucking despise hip hop. Loathe it. Eminem is a fucking idiot and I find 50 Cent the most distasteful character I have ever crossed in my life. It's so negative. Eminem's new song about his kid - isn't it the most ridiculous piece of music you have ever heard in your life? I just don't like the dragging women around on dog leads and all that stuff. I'm not fucking having that.

DW: I don't really get it either. I suppose it's a fantasy that some people have...

NG: I'm not saying they're directly responsible but that's how you end up with these fuckin' gangs of youths with hoods stabbing people. I'm not saying they need to sit around listening to 'All You Need is Love'. But kids are so fuckin' thick these days that they are very easily influenced, aren't they?

DW: What do you put that down to?

NG: I think it's a sign of parents being idiots.

If you want a laugh ( or "larf" as they say in England ) you should check out the rest of the interview if you have the time. The stuff about the upcoming "Live 8" concert is particularly humorous in a cynical asshole sort of way.

One of the first days after I’d moved to New York, I was wandering around St. Marks Place. I stopped at a stall on the street corner that had row after row of CDs. Some I’d heard of, but most I’d never seen before. The man who was working there watched me as I naively picked and poked my way through many of the CDs. He tapped my arm and handed me one. “Listen to this, come back and tell me what you think,” he said.

So I bought it, wondering if I was being ripped off. But I took his advice. I went home that night and listened to it. The next day I went back to him and bought two more CDs at his recommendation. All three were mixtapes.

Two years later, not too far away from where that CD stall was, the well-known record shop Kim’s Video, was raided for selling mixtapes. Five employees were charged with “failure to disclose origin of a recording in the second degree and trademark counterfeiting in the third degree.” This was all part of the RIAA’s larger attack on music piracy and copyright infringement.

As Kelefa Sannah ( link requires log-in ) explained in his essay in Thursday’s New York Times, the whole basis for having mixtapes has been a way for rappers and DJs to collaborate on unreleased tracks all the while keeping fans excited for songs they won’t hear on the radio or see on MTV.

Artists like 50 Cent, the Game, Diplomats, Jay-Z and G-Unit have all released or been part of the making of mixtapes. They release them for their fans. They release them to start turf wars. They release them to gage how well a track will do if released commercially. In fact numerous artists got their starts by releasing underground mixes that were never meant for mainstream release. The RIAA’s raid on Kim’s Music is probably the first of many. And their reasoning is completely backwards.

There is no easy solution to music piracy. The question of whether or not it is even wrong is still up for debate. But by cracking down on mixtapes, the RIAA is not just hurting the DJs and people who work with the mixtapes, but the music fans as well.

I don't take 'em out to eat
I ain't here to trick or treat
I ain't trying to fix your weave
I ain't heard of that!!
I'm just here to train ho's
Put 'em on the main road
Teach 'em how to 'Change Clothes'
I know you heard of that!!
Change your whole attitude
It's time to take off your cool
If it make you wanna move, then move
My niggaz get up on it
Live bitches throw it back
Ma, act like you want it
I know you heard of that!!

Back with the bulletproof remix of "I Ain't Heard Of That" it's "Tha Big Boss of the South" aka Slim Thug alongside his boy Bun B of the U.G.K. (FREE PIMP-C!!!) and Mr. Pharrell Williams.

Slim Thug feat. Bun B and Pharrell "I Ain't Heard Of That (Remix)"

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Mr. Hype WIlliams also blessed Slim Thug with a very nice black and white, split screen video that you can find here.

Keep an eye out for Lil Skateboard P's open faced fronts. Jeah!

Keep your other eye out for Slim Thug's full length 'Already Platinum' to finally drop on July 12th.

According to a VH1 article about the making of his newest video, reputed kufi smacker Jim Jones has teamed up with super-producer Pete Rock for a joint off his forthcoming full-length release!

One of the album's gems is the Pete Rock-produced "Gees Up," which features a rolling bass line peppered with a piano riff while Jim raps, "To stay above the poverty line, inspires my grind."

The Dipset captain and Warner Music A&R's sophomore album, 'Harlem: The Diary of a Summer,' is set to drop August 9th on the Diplomats/Koch records imprint.

The news finally broke a week or two back that rap legend C.L. Smooth had signed on with fledgling indie imprint Shaman Work and was preparing a new album for release sometime this year. And though we've still got to wait a while for an official release C.L. and Shaman Work have wasted no time in capitalizing on their new partnership and have leaked an exclusive preview of what the Mecca Don's got in store for the folks.

Right click and "save as" to peep it...

C.L. Smooth "Multi Bars Of Fury" [MP3]

Featuring C.L. flowing lovely on some smoothed out street rap stuff over a raw untouched Al Green loop, this is exactly the type of shit I wanna hear from Corey Penn and company when the real record finally drops.

Dude sounds hungry, something I can't say I expect in a veteran of his stature, which is a good thing for those of us a craving a return of that "real hip-hop" shit. And the production ( I mean, it's a just a raw loop, but whatever ) is appropriately dusted, but not trying to be Pete Rock.

Honestly, this is some old 1995 GZA/Genius type shit.

Lets just hope C.L. and his collaborators can bring that same type of hunger and heat to the official wax when the time comes.

Rumours that '90s boho-backpack-rappers Digable Planets had reunited to record a new album have proven at least partially true insomuch as the group is definitely back together and currently out on tour.

And I'm sure some of us were assuming that this reunification of old comrades might mean the long-awaited release of femcee Ladybug Mecca's debut solo outing would once again get pushed to the back-burner.

But never fear, 'cause Mecca's proving those assumptions wronger than wrong by finally offering up a full-length solo record titled 'Trip The Light Fantastic' which is set for realease on June 28th 2005 on the independent Nu Paradigm label!

The disc is in my posession as I type this, and a full review is forthcoming, but I just couldn't resist offering up a taste of what the record has to offer until I can get that in shape.

Ladybug Mecca "Sweet and Polite"

Produced by future-soulsters Sa Ra Creative Partners the track features the lo-fi robo-funk grooves and wild synthesizer textures that have become their trademark, over which Mecca spits her unique brand of braggadocious rhymes and even drizzles some syrupy crooning on the hook and bridge for good measure.

And while the sound of this jam, and the album as a whole, is surely a departure from the bohemian basement jazz grooves of the old Digable Planets stuff I just can't comprehend how anyone who hears this slice of hip-hop infused urban futurisim wouldn't wanna run right out to cop 'Trip The Light Fantastic' when it drops later this month.

It is just so funky!

Besides that though, how can anyone resist someone as sweet, polite, petite and cute as Ladybug?

I mean, REALLY!

Though some of us may be far too homophobic to admit it, girl-faced boys are hot!

And they're even hotter still when they make music that sounds like The Neptunes producing for a group of emo-hipster college kids with beards rather than the hunky Justin Timberlake!

That's exactly what Skeletons & The Girl-Faced Boys sound like on their fresh new release 'Git,' which drops on June 28th through Ghostly International!

And that makes you curious to check out these girl-faced boys "package," doesn't it?

Then do it, tough guy!

Skeletons & The Girl-Faced Boys "Git" [MP3]

Just right click the link, and "save as" for a dose of soulful, electro-emo goodness that's sure to leave you craving some more of that girl-faced boy aural lovin' real soon.

If you dig the band of multi-ethnic greasy hipster post-punk poster-children known as Bloc Party then you should be happy to hear that they'll be making a couple of high profile TV and radio appearances this week.

First Bloc Party will be appearing on 'Late Night with Conan O’Brien' TONIGHT, Tuesday June 14th! The show begins at 12:35 AM and airs on your local NBC affiliated station.

And you'll also be able to hear Bloc Party live in concert from Washington DC's 9:30 Club on National Public Radio's 'All Songs Considered' on Thursday June 16th as part of NPR's "Live Concert Series." Check your local listings for air-times as I can't seem to figure out what time this show broadcats. Or just check out this page where they archive all the performances after the fact.

Either way, it's like throwing a Bloc Party right in your living room, vehicle or other listening space... and you don't even need a permit from the city.

Some Russian guy did it:

DJ Aptem is a new MT hero - he's done what I always dreamed of doing when I was little and couldn't afford a pair of Technics. He's built a pair varispeed tape decks, complete with 'jog wheel', EQ and motor off switches.

(via Engadget)

Other times it can be a samurai sword. But until someone pens a song about that we'll have to make do with Aberfeldy's ditty "Love Is An Arrow" which has been warming my lil emo heart with one of the coldest videos I've seen in a minute.

Enjoy.

Aberfeldy "Love Is An Arrow"

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And remember my little emo bretheren...never ever trust a lil' Eskimo girl...or any girl for that matter.

The Beastie Boys got out of having to appear before the Supreme Court today.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether a 1992 Beastie Boys song infringed on the copyright of a jazz flutist's recording.

Without comment, justices let stand a lower court ruling against jazz artist James W. Newton. Newton contended that the punk rappers' "Pass the Mic" included a sample from his musical composition "Choir" without his full permission.

The Beastie Boys paid a licensing fee for the six-second, three-note segment of Newton's work, but failed to pay an additional fee to license the underlying composition.

Remember kids...always pay people off before you get super famous...that way they won't come back and bite you in the ass.

...on stage together.

In a statement released to MTV News, the trio of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams announced plans to disband after their world tour ends in the fall.

"We have been working together as Destiny's Child since we were 9, and touring together since we were 14. After a lot of discussion and some deep soul-searching, we realized that our current tour has given us the opportunity to leave Destiny's Child on a high note, united in our friendship and filled with an overwhelming gratitude for our music, our fans, and each other," the statement said.

Well...it's the end of an era.

Fresh from The Crate, it's...

8 Off "Ghetto Girl"

I first heard of 8 Off the Assassin -- perhaps better known to some of you as Agallah The Don Bishop -- through 'The Source' magazine. It must have been 1992, or thereabouts, when they featured him in their "Unsigned Hype" column. His photo looked crazy, and the way they talked about his emceeing made the dude come off even crazier, so you know I was intrigued.

Not too long after that it was announced that he had signed to rapper YZ's then-new ( and quickly thereafter defunct ) 720 Productions. I think he even made a brief cameo in YZ's "Return Of The Holy One" video. But after that he sorta faded into the background and wasn't heard from ( I seem to remember some rumour about him being affiliated with Onyx at one point, but when that happened and whether or not it's true are sorta fuzzy to me ) for a number of years.

1995 saw him re-emerge with the dope-ass "Ghetto Girl" 12'' which was released as a precursor to a full-length LP on East West records. Flexing a gruff tone not disimilar to the one Supernatural was using at the time over a raw ass live bass and drum groove the song was a mainstay of college radio mix-shows at the time... or the ones I was listening to at least. But, as major labels often due, WEA ( of which East West was a part ) decimated their hip-hop roster ( which included I-n-I, The Juggaknotz and the afforementioned Supernat, among others ) shortly after that and 8 Off's LP was lost in the sauce. Yet again, dude disappeared.

He somehow hooked up with Parrish "PMD" Smith and worked with him off-n-on as part of his Hit Squad for the remainder of the decade, even making production ( and vocal ) appearances on the two EPMD reunion albums. But nothing much ever came of the connection.

In 1999 he made something happen though. And it was something big. That something was a song called "Crookie Monster." Having changed his name to Agallah, he had begun producing for various emcees around the fledgling underground scene before finally releasing this single which, with it's ill 'Seasame Street' sample and vocals from Agallah posing as a drug-addicted, crime-committing Cookie Monster, should have made the guy a househould name. But for whatever reason he never managed to capitalize off the track's buzz and the next few years saw him continuing to float around the underground, producing for pretty much EVERYBODY ( "Telemundo" with Sean Price being a particularly memorable cut ) and dropping the occasional 12'' now and again.

Then, as if out of the ether, something called "piff" happened. Who would have thought... 8 Off the Assassin would one day get down with Harlem's Dipset, call himself the Don Bishop, and crack the Billboard charts with his new crew the Purple City Byrdgang? Not me. But it fuckin' happend! And I'm sure some of you purple flag rockin', piff puffin' Dipset lovers out there had little to no clue about the dues this dude has paid over the years, or his first foray into the world of wax, a little song called "Ghetto Girl."

But now you do.

Kanye West, the first producer with a Benz and a backpack, is having a banner summer so far.

He's been directing videos left and right.

He almost single-handedly produced Common's come-back 'Be,' which has garnered almost universal praise from everyone who's heard it, allowing Com to reclaim his respect with his die-hard backpacker fans ( many of whom were turned off by his last effort, the experimental opus 'Electric Circus' ) while clocking unprecedented radio & video spins and racking up impressive sales numbers.

He's signed underground future-soul poster children Sa-Ra Creative Partners ( who even made a cameo in Com's video for "The Corner" ) to his own fledgling label.

And now, his newest single "Diamonds," from the forthcoming 'Late Registration' album, has lips flapping all over the place.

If you haven't already heard it ( which is unlikely ), now's your chance.

Kanye West "Diamonds From Sierra Leone"

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I'm sorta on the fence about it myself. I appreciate the James Bond sample. But it's just so obvious. Part of me just can't help feeling like it's a rework ( there are some synthy elements to the track that have had more than a few people speculating some involvement from the Sa-Ra cats ) of a track he's been sitting on for a long time but could never do anything with because labels wouldn't pony up the dough to clear the sample. Now that he's the Roc's goldenboy such things aren't even an issue though, so I can see him jumping at the chance to be the guy that flips the James Bond shit and makes it a big hit.

Personally I want more of that shit ( meaning that good shit ) that he gave Common though. Maybe we'll get some more of it when 'Late Registration' drops?

I feel like The Beyonder from those old 'Secret Wars' comics or some shit, pitting immensly talented artists against eachother in a head to head battle to the death, or, something.

I mean, it ain't like Beck and Com are in a steel cage match or anything, I just feel like being dramatic.

Ya see, what this is really all about is a fresh "mash up" of Beck's "Earthquake Weather" from his 'Guero' LP and Common's "The Corner" from his 'Be' album, instigated by Emeyesi and cooked up by none other than your favorite bedreaded Hebrew dj/producer... and yes, I mean me... fuckers.

I know some of you are probably wondering what posessed us to even put Beck and Common in the same sentence, much less on the same song. But doubts like that are what make you suck while we just continue to rule. I mean, think about it people... Beck and Com are both tall, lanky dudes... They've both been known to breakdance during their live shows... And let's face it, they're both known for rocking some bugged out thrift-store hipster type threads. So really, it only makes sense to put these two guys together. And when you hear how their songs fit like a hand in a glove you'll wonder why you didn't think of it before we did.

So give it a listen! The mp3 can be found in the "Remixes & Exclusives" section of the right hand column of this very site. Or, you can just download it right here, right now!

Beck vs. Common feat. Kanye West & The Last Poets "The Earthquake Weather(ed) Corner ( El Keter Mash Up )"

Right click the link and "save as" chumps.

And keep an ear out for more mash up madness from me in the near future, as I'm currently piecing together a blend heavy mix of hip-hop, soul and other electronic goodness that should be hitting people like you ( though not necessarily you, sucka ) sometime very soon.

Prince Rogers Nelson, the musical genius who ruled the '80s with a signature blend of funk, synth pop, rock, soul, r&b, folk, outright pop and arty experimentalism was born today, June 7th, 1958, in Minneapolis Minnesota. Amazingly enough, he turns 47 years old. How such an old guy stays in the kind of shape needed to rock those ice-skater outfits he does is beyond me. I guess bangin' broads like Vanity, Appolonia, Sheila E, Sheena Easton and Carmen Elektra must do a body good or somethin'.

Having grown up during the '80s I sorta take the man's brilliance for granted, but I realize that some of you younger readers might not be so lucky. I know, I know... all you've got to go on when it comes to Prince is his more recent Jehovah-infused lite-soul crap, jokes about him changing his name to a symbol and vague memories of "Diamonds And Pearls." But you really should dig deeper than that, and appreciate everything he's contributed to the world of music and popular culture.

The best way to do that of course is to listen to the man's music. And what better day to go out and cop a few Prince records than the man's birthday, right?

While I may have my personal favorite jams from various albums I can honestly say that the man's catalog from his 1978 debut 'For You' right up to 1988's 'Lovesexy' are essential additions to the collection of anyone who fancies themselves a music snob, hipster, pop music afficianado or even remotely "hip" or "cool" in any way shape or form. Simply put, Prince is that shit, and you just don't know music if you don't know that and publicly aknowledge it as a fact.

I mean, Michael Jackson named his kid Prince for fuck's sake! And don't gimme no shit about it not having to do with this Prince neither. Just face it, the motherfucker is that badass!

So, if you wanna be cool but you don't own all, or god forbid any, of the records listed below you need to do yourself ( and all your friends who are forced to put up with your shitty taste in tunes ) a favor and run out some time today to purchase one ( or even all ) of them.

'For You'

'Prince'

'Dirty Mind'

'Controversy'

'1999'

'Purple Rain'

'Around the World in a Day'

'Parade'

'Sign 'O' the Times'

'The Black Album'

'Lovesexy'

Consider it a birthday present from Prince, to you.

Giving hope to sort of odd looking dudes everywhere, it's been confirmed that Jack White of the White Stripes tied the knot to model Karen Elson last week in a wacky, psuedo-incestuous swinger style Amazonian river ceremony.

Chloe Walsh, a publicist for White, 29, confirmed Thursday that the singer-guitarist married Elson, a 25-year-old who has modeled for Prada and Banana Republic. She is also featured in the band's latest video, "Blue Orchid," a surreal clip which features snakes slithering over Elson.

The marriage and details regarding it were first reported by Us Weekly, though the story was not in its latest issue.

The service was conducted by a Shaman priest on a canoe in the Amazon basin. It was followed by a blessing by a Catholic priest at a cathedral in Manaus, Brazil.

Meg White, the drummer for the White Stripes, a blues-rock duo from Detroit, served as maid of honor. Though she and White have claimed to be siblings, court records have suggested they were married for four years before divorcing in 2000.

And, as if he wasn't busy enough marrying broads in the jungle, fans everywhere are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a little bundle of joy he created with his sister/wife Meg... a brand-spankin' new album titled 'Get Behind Me Satan.'

The 13 track LP is due in stores today on V2/BMG records.

Releases expected this summer, from Chris Craft himself:

Yes it's true folks...

The Mecca Don has joined the Shaman Work roster.

12" coming in July / August 2005
EP coming in October 2005
LP coming in 2006 (at some point when it's "Warm Outside")