Ashita no Joe Theme song by Isao Bitou

Another great song I'd like to share with you from a fantastic series!
This is the first Opening Theme to the series and it's the full version at that. It took me a little while to find, so I hope you enjoy this epic old school anime theme in 320 kbps quality :)

Download links:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XDNPWGTI

http://www.sendspace.com/file/axwhrp

Can I get a HOORAH!?

The pictures say it all!

Get some Bitches!!!!!!!!

 

Once a Marine always a Marine!  HOORAH!!!!

Oh Yeah, and too my SEAL homeyz!

Just Kidding……

The Freshest Halloween Costume Ever!!!

As seen on the streets of Tokyo, Japan

Inspired by Album covers from A Tribe Called Quest.

‘Nuff Said!!!

 

P.S.

Big up to Timid for pointing this out to me and Big Up to the homegirl DJ Sarasa aka SilverBoomBox for rocking the “Electric Relaxation!

10 Ridiculous Rapper Chains

 

Rappers love their jewelry. Some rappers don't even have their own homes but as long as the ice is right, it's all gravy like Fat Joe's dinner table. I've seen some cool rapper chains...but I've also seen a lot of terrible ones. More often than not rappers seem to buy chains for reaction rather than thinking "is this something I'll actually wear a week from now?" Here are the 10 most ridiculous rapper chains.

10. YUNG BERG

Berg's chain wasn't the worst looking one around, but I just don't understand why this guy has (or should I say had) a Transformers symbol around his neck? Was he in the movie? I used to like to watch The Flintstones but I also have a grip on reality and don't need an iced out Barney. If you love a certain cartoon tell people on Facebook...not your neck.

9. YUNG JOC

Yung Joc's chain says "Hustlenomics." It could also seriously injure a baby. The worst thing about this chain is just how big and terrible it looks...kinda just like a hunk of metal hanging off his neck. The person wearing it doesn't help the situation either. The "H" is for horrible.

8. GUCCI MANE

Cowabullshit. Why would a grown ass man want this chain? Isn't your chain supposed to impress women? Imagine screwin' a chick with Bart Simpson hangin' on her titties? Yeah sure Bart's happy but you look like a tool.

7. GHOSTFACE KILLAH

Yes Ghostface used to wear a dinner plate around his neck...he also used to wear a gigantic eagle on his arm. And while the plate does look ridiculous, it also opened the door for everyone to rock chains. Hit your mom's china cabinet, get some rope and your in business. Even little Ghostface rocked it:

6. VERBAL FROM THE TERIYAKI BOYZ

"Ya colors too bright." Not too sure what to say about this one. It looks like someone shitted out coloured diamonds and this is what happened. It's not that surprising since the guy is wearing 3-D glasses. I'd need to be in a drug induced coma to wear this.

5. RICK ROSS

Unless you ARE Jesus Christ, don't do this. The worst part is that some people probably mistake it for Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince wearing sunglasses. The question remains: Are those sunglasses iced out Ricky is rockin' real or fake?

4. BUSTA RHYMES

If you are gonna drop serious dollars on a chain, make sure it doesn't look like it was a 2 for 1 special at the flea market. This shit is just ugly. The "Map Of New York City" portion on top looks like it would break off mad easy and the colours give New York City a sort of Fruity Pebbles vibe. I hope Busta kept the receipt.

3. T-PAIN

* NOTE - T-Pain started off as a rapper and still raps. He counts.

According to T-Pain on Twitter, this chain cost him $410,000. I'm pretty sure there are kids in Ethiopia right now playing darts with a picture of Teddy P. I get the joke. It's a big ass chain and it says "Big Ass Chain." Hilarious. You know what else is funny? How dumb it looks.

2. SEAN KINGSTON

There are so many things to dislike about Sean Kingston that it makes it challenging to just focus on the chain. That being said, I'm gonna do my best. First of all why? Does anyone look at this and go "yo Sean that is dope man." He's lucky those crayons don't come out the box 'cause if he wore this around me I'd go straight colouring book status on his eyes.

1. SKOOL BOY

I don't know who Skool Boy is but I do know he has the most ridiculous chain I've ever seen. Look, I love chicken wings but you don't see me with an iced out 10 piece around my neck do you? I'd imagine even the person he bought this from looked at him like "n*gga is you crazy?" It has gotta be rough when your chain has more buzz than you.

Koddy " あーだこーだ" 10/28全国発売!!

Koddy's new song " あーだこーだ" (A-Da Ko-Da) on the Baddaz compilation album "無限十六Vol.4 "

10/28/2009 全国発売!!

Check the end for a preview of her next song
"Bounce" ft. OnMu

Black Samurai

Joint we collabed on back in '06

Back in the day…..

So yesterday my mother emailed me to let me know that she loves me and things like that (got to love Mom Yall!) and she included an attachment.  Now I am thinking it will be a normal little cute picture with a hug or hearts or some other cute Mom kind of attachment but, to my surprise, it was a picture of me and my brothers from back in the day. 

Bet you can’t guess which one is me!

Instantly images of my childhood came to mind and also that song by Ahmad “Back In The Day”.

Good and Bad, I thoroughly enjoyed my childhood and had to share this pic with the world!

THANKS MOM and I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

R.I.P. Dj Roc Raida from The Xecutioners

DJ Grandmaster Roc Raida passed away over the weekend. The '95 DMC World DJ Championship winner, who was dealing with complications from a martial arts accident, was 37 years old.

The famed Harlem DJ and member the influential crew, the X-Ecutioners, was also the personal man behind the wheels for Busta Rhymes.

Lion vs 金魚すくい

Lion playing at the Japanese festival at his daycare center.

Dumbfoundead- Rapper-O's (Music Video)

Now Yall see Hip Hop aint dead, it has been packaged into a breakfast cereal! LOL

飲みすぎ！！！

I like drinking as much as the next man, but no one should ever be this drunk, LOL!!!!!

Mini-Doctrine: My Stupid Hard Drive

Another Classic youtube post from IllDoc aka J Smooth!

Koddy 8-23 live

Koddy doing her thing Live @ Marz Ghetto Culture Special August 23, 2009 Shinjuku, Japan

http://profile.ameba.jp/koddy
http://www.myspace.com/koddyakabadgal
http://www.myspace.com/omugenmusic

!NEW! Koddy- “Forever”

New demo song from the Japanese Reggae artist known as KODDY.

Song title is “Forever” which she sung over the Automatic Riddim track.

ENJOY!!!

Koddy-"Forever

Do You Drink Bottled Water?

I have long voiced my opinion about the idea of buying water and finally someone has put those same basic ideas in a documentary film called “Tapped”.

“Tapped” is a film that examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil.

Check out the trailer:

Eminem - The Warning (Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon Diss)

Mariah Carey channeled Eminem for her new music video, "Obsessed." Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?  And stand up he did!  Eminem fires back with his song “The Warning”

Download this MP3 - (Right Click) 

For those who couldn’t catch what he was talkin about here are the lyrics:

Only reason I dissed you in the first place is because you denied seeing me
Now I’m pissed off
Sit back homey relax, in fact grab a six pack kick back while I kick facts
Yeah Dre’s sick track, perfect way to get back
Wanna hear something wick wack?
I got the same exact tat that’s on Nick’s back
I’m obsessed now
Oh gee, is that supposed to be me in the video with the goatee
Wow Mariah, I didn’t expect her to go balls out
Bitch, shut the **** up before I put all them phone calls out you made to my house when you was wild n out before Nick
When you was on my **** and give you somethin to smile about
How many times you fly to my house? Still trying to count
Better shut your lying mouth if you don’t want Nick finding out
You probably think cuz it’s been so long if i had something on you I woulda did it by now
On the contrary, Mary Poppins, I’m mixing a studio session down and sending it to mastering to make it loud
Enough dirt on you to murder you
This is what the **** I do
Mariah, it ever occur to you that I still have pictures?
However you prefer to do and goes for Nick too, faggot
You think I’m scared of you?
You gonna ruin my career you better get one
Like I’ma sit and fight with you over some slut bitch **** that made me put up with her psycho ass over 6 months and only spread her legs to let me hit once
Yeah, what you gonna say? I’m lucky? Tell the public that I was so ugly that you ****ing had to be drunk to **** me?
Second base? What the **** you tell Nick, punk?
In the second week we was dry humping. It’s gotta count for something.
Listen, girly. Surely you don’t want me to talk about how I nutted early cos I ejaculated prematurely and bus all over your belly, and you almost started hurling and said I was gross, go get a towel you’re stomachs curling. Or maybe you do.
But if I’m embarrassing me, I’m embarrassing you and don’t you dare say it isn’t true.
As long as the song’s getting airplay I’m dissing you.
I’m a hair away from getting carried away and getting sued.
I was gonna stop at 16. that was 32. This is 34 bars. We ain’t even a third of the way through.
Damn, Slim. Mariah played you. Mariah who?
Oh did I say ”whore”, Nick? I meant a liar too.
Like I’ve been goin off on you all this time for no reason.
Girl you out ya alcholic mind. Check ya wine cellar. Look at the amounts of all the wine.
Like I ****ing sit around and think about you all the time.
I just think this **** is funny when I pounce you on a rhyme.
But **** it now i’m about to draw the line.
And for you to cross it that’s a mountain that I doubt you wanna climb.

I can describe areas of your house that you wouldn’t find on an episode of Cribs
A blubba load ribs if I hear another word so don’t go opening your jibs cos every time you do it’s just another load of fibs
I ain’t saying this shit again, ho. You know what it is.
It’s a warning shot for before I blow up ya whole spot
Call my bluff and I’ll release every ****ing thing I got
Including the voicemails right before you flipped your top
When me and Luis were tryin’ to stick two CD’s in the same spot
(Slim Shady I love you)
I love you too
Let me whisper sweet nothings into your ear, boo. Now what you say?
(It’s nothing)
Yeah so what I’ll do?
Is refresh your memory when you said ”I want you”
Now should I keep going or should we call truce?
(You think you’re cute, right? Hahaha)
You bet your sweet ass I do
(I’m Mary Poppins, b)
And I’m Superman, mmm
(Mary P. Slim Shady)
Comin’ at you
So if you’ll still be my (babygirl)
Then I’ll still be your (Superhero, Wilma M.)
Yeah, I’m right here
(You like this)
Nope. Not anymore, Dear.
It cuts like a (knife) when I tell ya get a (life)
But I’m movin on with mine
Nick, is that your (wife)
Well tell her to shut her mouth then I’ll leave her alone
If she don’t (sing this script?) then I’ma just keep goin, DAMN!
(I see Mary Ann. Mary Ann’s saying ”cut the tape, cut the tape”. Knife!)

Ras Kass is back!

After a brief prison term, the west coast Heavy Weight MC is back!

Because of a mixture of prison stints and production stumbles, California lyrical titan Ras Kass hasn't been able to gain much steam the past few years. With a new lease on life –The man born John Austin got out of prison in May- we might finally see some consistency from one of the game's finest wordsmiths.

Aptly titled "Started Something," this latest joint could be the beginnings of something major...

Click here to hear/see his new Joint!

Shaolin, Chop Suey and all things Kung Fu

Anybody that has been of fan of Hip-Hop knows about Hip-Hops long love of Kung Fu Flicks.  A friend just informed me of a site where you can watch your fill of them anytime you want.  Here’s the Link http://watchkungfu.com/  Now nobody email me or call me for a few days because I wont reply(I’ll be too busy watching Jackie Chan do his thing) LOL. Anyone down to watch “The Young Master” with me? http://watchkungfu.com/Kung-Fu/kung-fu

You Can’t Touch This

Recently I decided to catch up with a friend of mines, Yolanda Holck aka Yo-Yo from Hawaii.  Some of you may know the name but even if you don't you sure can’t forget the body (that is if you watched MC Hammer videos back in the day). She is the light-skin girl you used to always see in the biker shorts dancing behind Hammer Anyway, I decided to interview her about the hows and whys of the Hammer experience and here it goes:

 

 

me-
How did you become a dancer for MC Hammer?

Y-
well i battled all his dancers at the point after club and battled all his dancers one by one and then called out Hammer on the dance floor that was my audition.

me-
That was a bold move! What made you decide to do that?

Y-
I was mad at some military men that i was suppose to dance with them to open up for Hammer
so I was pumped up and danced battled my ass off that when i did that Hammer watch me for a long time and asked me to come to the back room, he then gave me an interview and asked me what I did and if I would leave with him and needed to pack my bags in 2 hours and meet him in the lobby.  i was wearing hammer gold pants and a gold vest,I was ready!

me-
Nice!  So you was like” forget them dudes, I’ma just straight up battle my way in!”  Dopeness!!!  What was you doing before the whole Hammer thing?

Y-
I was teaching dance classes at the YMCA for boys and helping them stay out of gangs and into dancing. We were called Club 21 "Cool Ladies Unique Boys Together as One”.  The slogan was "Stay off the streets and get with the beat!" They were Filipinos

me-
all filipinos?

Y-
Yes,I was in the Manog Association for University of Hawaii helping low income kids teaching them discipline and dance.   it was a very poor building and we didn't have much we had a radio with a pencil in the tape cassette holder to play and we didn't have a studio.Now, my kids rap and dance like me. I made them famous too  they rap, breakdance and hiphop.  They performed for 4 nights with me and Hammer on stage

me-
Kool!  Now all this happened in Hawaii right?  I bet it was a big change for you after you joined Hammer's entourage.

Y-
yeah,  I met everyone too 357 was there Ho Frat Ho and B Angie B was there too.

me-
What were some of your memorable moments while on tour and working with Hamma?

Y-
well there is a lot.  I would say staying in the penthouse at the Plaza Hotel in NY, Micheal Jackson was there too.  Being on Oprah and the American Music Awards live.

me-
Ok, I see you was getting your star on, but I know there had to be some "oh hell no" type moments as well.

Y-
yes BET Awards and the Arsenio Hall Show, meeting James Brown
and meeting Easy E he was with me holding my hand on the plane.

me-
Sounds interesting.  So what you been up to since the Hammer days and what are your plans for the future?

Y-
well I was rappin with Hammer on stage in japan at the Sony concert plus, I rapped on his shows and I had talking parts on his show and then i started rapping as 50yizzo

 

We had a interesting conversation some of which I cant really share with you but I will keep you posted on what’s going on with Yo-Yo aka 50yizzo in the future.

Michael Jackson dies at 50

'King of Pop' Michael Jackson died today at the UCLA Medical Center after he was brought in by paramedics who found him not breathing at his home, according to various reports.

Jackson, 50, rose to fame alongside his brothers as the lead singer of the Jackson Five in the late 1960s. Before he had reached his teens, the group scored a string of No. 1 hits such as "I Want You Back" and "ABC." But Jackson went on to even greater success as a solo artist. He became a global megastar in 1982 with the release of "Thriller," which spawned seven Top 10 hits and remains one of the two bestselling albums in history.

Jackson remained a major star for the next decade, but as the years passed he began receiving more attention for his eccentric behavior than for his music. In 1993, he was hit with the first of several accusations of child sexual abuse. Jackson eventually settled with the child's family out of court, and no charges were brought. A separate case resulted in a heavily publicized trial in 2005; he was eventually acquitted.

-Mercury News

Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. CNN has confirmed his death.

-CNN

 

 

You gotta admit, regardless of how he lived his life, he made DAMN GOOD MUSIC!

R.I.P. Michael Jackson!! You Will Be Missed!!

A boy full of dreams has been hoisted to paragon and pop king. All the while, a crowd had gathered below the wind sailing Jackson, aiming their carnival riffles till the broken prize came careening down into the deep cold earth. Sleep now, Michael, and I will work the conundrum in your stead. Give my regards to Jim, Jimi, and Bob. What is it about rising that consumes with such ravenous vigor.
-Marcellus Nealy

tomorrow is not promised to any of us... live life to the fullest everyday!!!

Nas New Song "Film" + lyrics

Brand new music from Nas, recorded with new producer C-Sick who won the chance to record with Nas in a producer's competition. (via TSS)

Download this MP3 - (Right Click)

------------------
Nas "Film" Lyrics

I want y'all to see this like film. C-Sick on production, Nas on the vocal.. let's go

Life's a fog at night red brake lights
The freeway beside a restaurant
Cold egg whites sat on my plate like
3 AM this is a spot frequented by some made men
I'm high on hemp a fly old pimp
Just walked in, his suit was shark skin,
He woke me up from some of the thoughts I'm lost in
What fame does to niggas, change love to bitterness
Friends to fiends for the audience screams ridiculous
Jumped up, paid the tab got in my Benz and went
To my old housing tenement, visit my old friends
Some show love and some are envious
Some got the heart of gold, some venomous
At times I wanna go back to being penniless
Ignorance is bliss, i love being innocent
Ugh, but life's got me on the fence again
And all is real so all's worth mentioning.

CHORUS:
If I could press pause, or fast forward past the hardness
Visions written bring words to life like I'm smitten with
Memories real, still ill, now I appear crisp like film

Ice on gold from mossbergs to golf clubs
Ninth hole, the white rose, the life I chose
Bandanna over the eye, Dior sandals
Car doors rise with no touch of the handles
Capiche? Capri style, it's on beaches and islands
Far from police sirens at least for a weekend
then it's back to the streets creepin
I'd like to make a free toast of champagne on behald of this nigga speaking
Add a splash to the Seagrams
Roll the hash for my world renowned goons this evening
As i circle the table like Babe Ruth
Louisville Slugger in my grip for a fake dude
Bat to the brain with brute force
Splatter my cream velour suit
They hit me with lawsuit
I slip in your whore coupe
Your b*tch hate you, word to Jesus
Bet you never knew she toot yay and play with a gay crew
OGs hate to make way for the new
Young niggas want Polo ain't f*cking with J Crew
It's safe to say I was once young and innocent
But look what I know now, is all worth mentioning

CHORUS:
If I could press pause, or fast forward past the hardness
Visions written bring words to life like I'm smitten with
Memories real, still ill, now I appear crisp like film

I speak to the street life
The executive chief types
The felons, young mothers with kids they trying to feed right
The botega wearers modern day Che Guevaras
Cuz I barely survived crazy eras
Honest, always make good on my promise
I don't talk it I do it you can hold me to it
I was born to this life I didn't invent it
But I'd be wrong not to take a few meal tickets
You and I are real different, we don't share the same beliefs
Fight in the ring or buy ringside seats
Either you like beef or you like to spectate
Give me gloves, and I'ma do it how the refs say
We touch em and we come out tussling
The ghetto is my garden of eden
So I keep bobbing and weaving
It's intense so I'm hardly breathing
KO, and the winner is Nas, that's how the scene ends

CHORUS:
If I could press pause, or fast forward past the hardness
Visions written bring words to life like I'm smitten with
Memories real, still ill, now I appear crisp like film

Roots Rock Reggae

What a gwaan?
The FINAL Roots Rock Reggae! SATURDAY, June 27th
22:00p.m-5:00a.m
2500JPY with drink and 1 free plate of Jamaican food!
500JPY Guavaberry drinks all night

Special guest performance by MackaRuffin and Patois lyricist,John MaCaNuff (11:00-12:00) and Jamaican Reggae band.
All night dancehall, classic reggae and soca.
African jewelrey on sale.
Seco Bar and Lounge, Shibuya  http://gmap.jp/shop-8432.html (English)
Enjoy Jamaican food. Don’t miss a great night.
See you in Reggae Heaven!
http://www.manduentertainment.com

レゲエラバーズのみなさん！
Roots Rock Reggae
ルーツレゲエで気分よく踊りながらジャマイカンフードも楽しめます
東京でカリビアンパラダイスにどっぷりつかりませんか？
お見逃しなく!!!
6月27日土曜日
22:00-5:00
渋谷SECOBARandLOUNGE
￥２５００（1ドリンク＆１フードプレート付）
グアバベリードリンク、一晩中￥５００
ジャマイカンフード、ジャークチキンブースあり。
スペシャルゲストパフォーマンスで MackaRuffin Patois lyricist,John MaCaNuffが登場！23:00-24:00
ダンスホール、クラシック、ラバーズロックで一足早い夏体験
当日お待ちしております
レゲエ天国で会いましょう！
http://gmap.jp/shop-8431.html (Japanese)
http://www.manduentertainment.com

Here are the walking directions:

So if you take the JR trains, come out at Shibuya Hachiko exit. Then cross at that huge intersection where Starbucks is and keep right. Walk all the way to Tower Records and then make a right. Walk under the bridge, cross the street and keeping coming up on your right side about 2 or 3 stop lights until you see a huge building called RESPEKT Seco. Seco bar and lounge is downstairs next to the Restaurant VINO.

 

white girl can blow

Lisa Lavie doiing here thang!   here,heard,one mo gin!  she that shit!!!!!!

THE FAM Live Listening Session

Family Business has officially been released and is now available digitally from iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, LastFM, and wherever else music is sold online!  Physical copies will also be available, starting with a pre-retail limited edition CD that will debut exclusively at the album release party next Tuesday, June 9 in NYC.

Live Listening Session now on http://www.livestream.com/famtv

http://www.myspace.com/thefammusic  http://www.timidmc.com/   http://pizonishiphop.com/

“Ocean’s 7” Mixtape FREE!!!!!!!

FINALLY IT’S HERE!!!!!

For those of you who don’t know, Ocean’s 7 is a collaboration project with Usher, Johnta Austin, Brian Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Trey Songz, Tyronne and Nelly.

“Amazing” is THE SHIT, I love the harmony of “Ain’t I” and of course “So Much Swagg” has so much swagg…… and the track “Vegas Baby” is definitely a club banger! Check out the video and after that go grab the mixtape(FOR FREE)!

Click here to download the Mixtape! (53MB)

HIPHOP英会話 aka Hip Hop English!!

外国人ラッパーから学ぶ本場HIPHOP英会話！これからの時代ダンサーにも英語は必見！ 日常使われる英会話を楽しく学んでいこう！

 

E-T-C Dance Shool contacted me to shoot a online video series to teach/explain about the english we use in Hip-Hop.  Was a pretty informal setting and I did almost the whole thing in Japanese.  Check It Out:  http://www.dance-ch.net/modules/variety_eikaiwa/index.php?content_id=1

Also, My new commercial for the Subaru Legacy B4 is out and online as well.  Go to http://www.subaru.jp/about/cm/legacy/index.html#dance and click on the movie link for “Dance with B4” to check it out.

Amazing G-Funk Beat-Boxer!

Every so often Youtube serves up some real slept on talent.  The homeless beatbox king “Red” turned up behind the Heavyweight Art Gallery in December and has been an internet phenom ever since.

According to his latest video on Youtube he is getting his shit together and has a single coming out in February.  Put me down for an album.

Listen to this one with your headphones on and the volume up:

Unbelievable how a homeless person has way more talent than most of today's popular hip hop artists! After someone posted this video to YouTube he was picked up by HVW8.

More info on Red and HVW8 at http://www.hvw8.com

Here is the remix of that video in song format:

If you like the remix you can get a copy of the MP3 HERE:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/57228596c11f1be9/

You know you've been in Japan too long when...

you run for the Yamanote line pushing people left and right, jump on the train holding the doors open to let your bag follow you on. Because you know there will not be another one for at least a minute.

you bow to other drivers who give you the right of way.

you rush onto an escalator, and just stand there.

you don't hesitate to put a $10 note into a vending machine.

you see a gaijin get on the train and think "Wow, it's a gaijin!"

you have trouble figuring out how many syllables there really are in words like 'building'.

you appear for your first skiing lesson with brand new Rossignol high performance racing skis and an aerodynamic racing suit with color matched goggles. And then snowplow down.

you get blasted by a political speaker truck and think "sho ga nai"

you think the best part of TV are the commercials.

you develop a liking for green tea flavored ice cream.

you're arguing with someone about the color of the traffic light being blue or green and ... you think it's blue.

you can't have your picture taken without your fingers forming the peace sign.

you pull up at a gas station and wait for a bunch of Norman Rockwell type attendants to jump out and clean your windshield.

you go for a drink with friends back home and start pouring everybody's beer.

your idea of a larger home is an extra 10 square meters.

you glance at the clock and accurately predict the next line of dialog in the TV dorama.

you are not worried about speeding in the rain, because you know the cops are only out there in good weather.

you think birds cry.

you find yourself bowing while you talk on the phone.

you think US$17 isn't such a bad price for a new paperback.

you go to a coffee shop in your home country and order "American coffee."

you are talking on the telephone to your parents and your father says, "Why are you interrupting my explanation with grunts?"

you're talking to your mother on the phone, and she asks you what "genki" means.

you don't think it unusual for a truck to play "It's a Small World" when backing up.

you think the natural location for a beer garden is on a roof.

you think that you can impress foreigners by drinking Budweiser.

you think "English literature major" is a polite way to say peanut brained bimbo.

you find a beautiful way to eat natto.

you start thinking can coffee tastes good.

you wait for the first day of summer to wear short sleeve dress shirts.

the first option you buy for your car is a TV set.

you really enjoy corn soup with your Big Mac.

you think the opposite of red is white.

you leave your expensive bottle of Royal Salute with a sleazy barkeeper and don't worry.

you pore over the jikokuhyo looking for ways to avoid riding the Shinkansen.

you buy a potato-and-strawberry sandwich for lunch without cringing.

you phone an English-speaking gaijin friend and somehow can't bring

yourself to get to the point for the first 3 minutes of the conversation.

you stop enjoying telling newcomers to Japan 'all about Japan'.

you automatically remember all of your important year dates in Showa numbers.

you think every foreign movie title contains the word 'love.'

you have mastered the art of simultaneous bowing and hand-shaking.

you think it's alright to stick your head into a stranger's apartment to see if anybody's home.

you have run out of snappy comebacks to compliments about your chopstick skills.

you think "white pills, blue pills, and pink powder" is an adequate answer to the question "What are you giving me, doctor?".

you no longer find anything unusual in the concept of "Vermont curry".

you think 4 layers of wrapping is reasonable for a simple piece of merchandise.

you don't find anything strange about a city that puts a life sized, red-and-white painted Eiffel tower imitation in its centre, as well as a scale model of the Versaille palace for its Crown Prince.

you are only slightly puzzled by "Melty Kiss."

you get on a train with a number of gaijin on it and you feel uneasy because the harmony is broken.

you ask fellow foreigners the all-important question "How long have you been here?" in order to be able to properly categorize them.

looking out the window of your office, you think "Wow, so many trees!" instead of "Wow, so much concrete!"

you think NHK is "the Japanese BBC".

you think curry rice is food.

in the middle of nowhere, totally surrounded by rice fields and abundant nature, you aren't surprised to find a drink vending machine with no visible means of a power supply and when you think nothing of it when that lonely vending machine says

'thank you' after you buy a coke.

the TV commercials make sense to you.

a non-Japanese sits down next to you on the train and you get up and move. You're not prejudiced, but who knows what they might do?

you only have 73 transparent, plastic umbrellas in your entrance because you have donated 27 to the JR and various taxi companies in the past few months.

you have over 100 small, transparent plastic umbrellas in your entrance even *after* donating 27 of them to taxis and JR recently.

you are proud of yourself for beating the system by buying a case of Labbatt's Blue for 160 yen a can.

you think rice imports should be prohibited, because Japanese consumers would never buy imported rice.

you think one kind of rice tastes better than another kind.

you rush home from work to catch the last few minutes of sumo.

you get a "Nihongo ga joozu" and feel really insulted.

you see a road with two lanes going in the same direction and assume the one on the left is meant for parking.

you think japan actually has only four seasons.

Ableton and Reason

ReWire

Was having trouble rewiring Reason into Ableton so, I went on YouTube and found this video.

 

Hope it helps you as much as it helped me.

3 Years

I dedicate this blog to the memory of J. Dilla aka James Dewitt Yancey

THREE YEARS AFTER HIS UNTIMELY DEATH, J DILLA'S BEATS AND REPUTATION LOOM EVER LARGER OVER HIP HOP. BUT FOR HIS MOTHER - WHO NURSED THE VISIONARY PRODUCER THROUGH A CHRONIC ILLNESS AND HAS WATCHED HIS ESTATE LANGUISH IN LIMBO - THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES.
DILLA REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH HIS HEALTH IN JANUARY OF 2002. He'd just returned from Europe and thought he had a bad flu. Sick to his stomach and complaining of chills, Ma Dukes took him to the emergency room at Bon Secours hospital in suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. His blood platelet count should have been above 150, but it was below 10. Doctors told his mother they were surprised he was still walking around.
He tested positive for lupus, an autoimmune disease that can be fatal. To make matters worse, Detroit doctors diagnosed him with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, aka TTP, a rare disorder that causes blood clots to form in the body's blood vessels.
At summer's end, 2005, Dilla found himself in a hospital bed at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, the same hospital where The Notorious B.I.G. and Eazy-E died. He'd lost the ability to walk and could barely talk. His own body was killing him, and there was little to be done about it.
Sensing that death was coming, he told his mother he needed his equipment in the hospital with him. Ma Dukes asked his friends from the L.A.-based label Stones Throw Records to lug his turntables, mixer, crates of records, MPC, and computer into his room. When his hands were too swollen, Ma Dukes would massage his stiffened fingers so Dilla could work on the tracks, letting his doctors listen to the beats through his headphones.
Sometimes he'd wake Ma Dukes up in the middle of the night, asking her to help move him from his bed to a reclining chair so he could work a bit more comfortably. His only focus was finishing the album. Donuts was released on Stones Throw on February 7, 2006, his 32nd birthday. Dilla died three days later.
Such a tragic story for a man who left so much good in the world. Big Up To the whole Dilla Family.
R.I.P J. Dilla you will be remembered forever!
P.S.
His younger brother is doing things with some of the beats that J Dilla made.