Diamond D f. Alchemist & Evidence | It’s Magic

With Diamond D’s compilation LP The Diam Piece out now, he drops off his latest visual for “It’s Magic” featuring Evidence and Alchemist.



From the album, "The Diam Piece". Available Now!
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/nxwazjk
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/q8cj8q3
Google Play: http://tinyurl.com/pkdnbdt

Hot Town, Summer in the City | 1970's NYC | Charles Fazzino x TATS Cru

Acclaimed 3D pop artist Charles Fazzino and legendary Bronx-based graffiti artists TATS Cru have come together to create a collaborative limited edition artwork titled "Hot Town, Summer in the City...1970's NYC."

The first partnership of its kind finds the contemporary pop artist Fazzino rendering 1970's New York City complete with subway cars "tagged" by the famed graffiti group. The artwork will be released as a limited edition in the signature three-dimensional Fazzino style by Fazzino's publishing company, Museum Editions, Ltd.

Kool Keith Documentary | Keep It Kool

Kool Keith is a genius. The Ultramagnetic MC’s front-man elevated the artform of lyricism to the highest level through albums like Ultramagnetic MC’s Critical Beatdown and Wild Pitch Records one-off The Four Horsemen. However, along the way, the artist who regularly rhymed about trips to Bellevue Mental Hospital admitted to actual personality disorders, blurring the lines on fictitious raps and brutally honest reality.

Keith interviews, for those that follow the man with personas like Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom [sic], the Analog Brother, and the Diesel Trucker, are just as bugged. It is not uncommon for Keith to admit he boasts a car collection in the hundreds, or go on longwinded tangents about his good looks. All of this is an extension of the persona loved by so many Hip-Hop fans (and casual listeners from other genres) since the mid-’80s.

Well, in the new documentary “Keep It Kool,” Mr. Thornton is surprisingly lucid, open, and honest about his life and times. This 30-minute interview, with some show footage mixed in, captures the amazing story behind one of Hip-Hop’s original weirdos, and arguably, one of its absolute lyrical innovators. Watch [him] now:

UNIVERSAL HIP HOP MUSEUM | TO OPEN IN THE BRONX

Before hip-hop became a musical genre, it was a form of expression — and an escape — for its early creators in the Bronx.

Now some of those elders of the genre want to underscore its Bronx roots by opening a hip-hop museum inside the Kingsbridge Armory, a long-empty fortress that is being redeveloped into a national ice sports center. The museum — to be called The Universal Hip Hop Museum — would utilize interactive technology to provide a comprehensive look at hip-hop, including its historical and cultural roots and the contributions of break dancers and disc jockeys, according to museum organizers.

“Many people have a misconception of what hip-hop is,” said Afrika Bambaataa , who is often called the godfather of hip-hop and will serve as the museum’s chairman.

“When they say hip-hop, they only say it’s the rapper, and there’s a whole culture and movement behind it.”



The plan for the museum was announced by a group of hip-hop artists and their supporters at a news conference in front of City Hall on Wednesday after a City Council ceremony inside to honor the achievements of Mr. Bambaataa and other early hip-hop pioneers, including Grandmaster Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz and Grand Wizard Theodore. The new museum, which is still being developed, is the latest in a line of efforts to honor hip-hop that date back to at least the mid-1990s.

In a separate project, Craig Wilson, co-founder of the National Museum of Hip-Hop, said that he was in negotiations with developers to open his museum in Harlem, though he added that he would consider a proposed location in the Bronx. But citing studies on foot traffic and tourists, he added that “the numbers in Manhattan make more sense financially than in the Bronx.”

Rocky Bucano, the president of the planned Universal Hip Hop Museum, said that their effort was different because it had the backing of Mr. Bambaataa and other artists who have agreed to serve on an advisory committee for the museum and raise money on its behalf. He said that they hoped to open in the armory by 2017. “Since we started the art form,” he said, “we think we should have the most invested in it.



The redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory will include 52,000 square feet of space dedicated to community use, said Councilman Fernando Cabrera, whose district includes the armory. Mr. Cabrera said that while he supported the idea of a hip-hop museum, the final decision would be made by an advisory board that was still being appointed to oversee the community benefits from the armory. He added that about a dozen community groups have expressed interest in using space at the armory, including a youth basketball program.

Grandmaster Melle Mel said that a hip-hop museum could draw tourists to the Bronx and become a destination like Yankee Stadium. “If you just keep it on the music level it cheapens it,” he said. “To embrace it as an art form, that’s what makes it a museum.”

The museum hopes to open in 2017 inside the Kingsbridge Armory.

Shawn "Pecas" Costner | THE ROUND UP w/ Shaheem Reid

Today on The Round Up, Shaheem travels to his home borough, Queens, to meet up with new executive VP of Def Jam Records, Shawn "Pecas" Costner at his steakhouse, S Prime. Costner talks growing up in the Bronx with Big Pun and J. Lo, being inspired to write sitcoms by Lucille Ball, and the meaning behind his nickname, "Pecas", as well as becoming one of the most influential people in the music business.