substance abuse

heres a healthier alternative that hip hop congress supports.

kingalings

Warrior Love

As I watched Ronny Turiaf fade off of Roger Mason Jr. so he could take the game
winning shot, I thought to myself, God damnit. Why do the Warriors always seem to do
this? Why can’t we just finish off a good win, any win for that matter. Stephen
Jackson seemed to feel the same way as he simply just shrugged and furnished a
confused look at Turiaf for leaving the man who has hit numerous game winning shots
for the Spurs open to do what he does best. As Monta Ellis scrambled across the
floor and threw up a terrible shot with plenty of time left, I knew the truth: the
Golden State Warriors suck. Yet, it wasn’t before long that I realized that is
exactly why I love them.

I have moved continuously throughout my entire life, and though changing schools and
losing friends had a profound impact on me, one of the most troubling things about
moving was trying to root for for a home town team when you don’t have a home town.
The Marlins, Orioles, Dolphins, Chargers, Padres, A’s, Heat, 49ers and Cubs are all
among the myriad of teams that have received my love throughout the years. Now that
I live in the greater LA region, I am beginning to feel the tugs of the Lakers and
Dodgers, and their fans whom I have befriended. Everything should point me to them.
The championships, the all-stars, the amazing plays, hell, Kobe himself really.
Nonetheless, in some respects, this is what draws me away. Last year, when the
Lakers lost in the Finals, most Laker fans I know were just upset. In LA, it’s not
exciting to win the title, it’s expected. It’s the same thing being a Yankee’s fan.
There isn’t the same passion when your team wins a big game, you already knew it was
going to happen. The Warriors are grimy, they’re castaways, they aren’t supposed to
win…and most times they don’t.  But when they do, it is something special. It is
excitement you can feel, a love you earned. Relationships fall on hard times, but
the ones that pull through can be powerful . That’s why when the Warriors upset the
Mavericks in the first round, no one really cared that they were knocked out in the
second. They defied the odds. For that one moment, they were not trapped in
mediocrity but thriving as centers of the basketball universe. And even though I
have moved yet again, this is why I haven’t abandoned the Golden State Warriors.
This is why I will always love them. Because they suck.

Some new uniforms wouldn’t hurt though.

Even Snoop Knows.

"im gifted, merry christmas"

vdc. spring break. lots of free time. anyone could get addicted to the stuff...movies, duh. ive been going through an animation phase so anything thats computer generated or not real life gets my attention. music videos are no different so when i came across the "gifted" video, it tickled my fancy. the concept is cool and i always like when a music video for any track does not feature the artist rapping. theres really no point imo. so enjoy and i hope it tickles you.

wontcha be my neighbor,
kingalings

chimichannnnga!

i know some our HHC'ers dig the sounds of producer/dj Flying Lotus. for his new Album "Los Angeles" his sound is a bit like Prefuse 73 but with actual melodic lines and less crazy chopped up samples which is an obvious departure from his more traditional tracks. His website features an "astroid"-esque game that seems to sum up the whole sound http://www.flying-lotus.com/destroy/. experimental hip hop?, maybe, but what ISNT experimental hip hop these days. haha. if you want to check him out live, youve got your chance. hes performing at the echoplex in LA on april 10. i believe a few HHCers are going to the show and its relatively cheap. in the meantime, heres a cool video promoting the new album.

kingalings

Flying Lotus - Los Angeles [Music Video - HD] from Brendan Sinnott on Vimeo.

im glad kanye got on this track

kanye's been going the electronic vibe route lately with his beats and vocals but im glad he still respects classic instrumentation. even though his verse exemplifies the witty yet oversimplified lyrics that hes been rapping lately, this "we fight we love remix" is enjoyable. so heres "We fight we love" REMIX feat. Kanye and Consequence

We Fight, We Love (Remix) (Feat. Kanye West & Consequence) - Q-Tip

welcome BACK

hello hello hello. i hope you all had a great spring break but unfortunately its back to school. so do the usual: sell your books back buy new ones and TRY not to get behind in classes. anyways hip hop congress is doing it big this quarter so support support support. meetings at 7 at the cross cultural center if you want to check it out. in the meantime heres a video of pharrell acting a fool at mcdonalds. enjoy pinoy.

Discover

Open Pandora's Box and you shall receive....really cool music. If you haven't already visited Pandora Radio , you should really check it out. Pandora is a neat website which allows you to discover a lot of new music that is similar to your taste. What's cool about Pandora is that keeps on spitting new artists and new songs you may have never heard until you find something that suits your style. I never really thought that science and music could be incorporated together, but Pandora uses classifications such as "east coast rap", "syncopated beats", and "clear pronunciations" to specifically get what the listener wants. For example, one of my favorite songs is Scenario by ATCQ, so I wanted to find something similar to that. So I created a Scenario radio station and it started busting out classics like Feel me Flow by Naughty by Nature but also gave me hits I've never heard like So Wat Cha Sayin by EPMD and Case of the P.T.A. by Leaders of the Future. Personally, Pandora makes sure my playlist never gets old and it also allows me to stay up to beat with the underground scene. So check it out if you want to discover some new music.

If you dont know, now you know,

-Sachin

raw

hey everyone. i havent posted in a while my bad. i hope finals went well for you. its SPRING BREAK! i know everyone is having a great time at home. im still in irvine though so if anyone is here "i can provide food, i can provide shelter" - will smith. haha sorry i just feel spacey. i know my posts have been music oriented and this is going to be no different. here we go with lupe fiasco and matthew santos on the acoustic version of "superstar" which in MY opinion should have been the original. The rawness and vulnerability of acoustic is perfect for the track. relax and chilllll.

until next time.
kingalings

Superstar (Feat. Matthew Santos) (Acoustic Version) - Lupe Fiasco

Today was a good day...

This is the first of many series of posts entitled "Today was a good day..." which will chronicle the antics of HHC and its members just to give you guys a peek into what we like to do outside of the club. If you don't know what the title is a reference to, we can't be friends.

Well, with finals over, Me&Mike&Raf and HHC affiliates Jeff&Frances headed to a somewhat private beachspot in South OC for some surf and relaxation. Having had great weather all throughout finals week that couldn't be enjoyed due to the majority of us being couped up in a study room or library, we thought we were in store for another sunny California afternoon. We were wrong. Damn, the only time I'm free to get out of the house and abandon the books and the good weather changes abruptly. Nonetheless, the beach was still dope and besides getting annihilated by the waves, surfing was dope too. It turned out my camera had run out of memory and battery when we reached the beach destination, so here's the four photos I was able to squeeze in from today...or yesterday. Technically, "yesterday was a good day," but it doesn't work like that unless Ice Cube says so. With that said, I didn't even have to use my AK...

Stonehedge that was later demolished by either Jeff, Raf, or Frances or a collaborative effort among the three. Needless to say, they are probably going to be visited by evil spirits sometime soon. Good luck with that guys.

Song/Vid of the day:

Love and Happiness,
Allan

Hip Hop Current Events

I just got done taking my last final after pulling an all-nighter and a half. But before I fall into an eternal slumber, let me keep you all updated on some hip hop current events.

Mos Def's fourth solo album now has an official release date (yes, another one). The new LP called The Ecstatic is set to hit the streets on June 9th. I will be anxiously waiting to cop and praying to the Lord that it does not get pushed back further. I need some new Boogie Man material cot dammit! Below is the alleged album art for the LP, it's a still film from Charles Burnett's movie "Killer of Sheep" for all you film afficionados.


Listen to a pre-released track from the album, it's called Life in Marvelous Times:

Life in Marvelous Times - Mos Def

In other news, Mos Def has been known to dip his toes into fashion a little bit and has recently collaborated with streetwear brand Undercrown to bring to the masses a Summer/Spring collection of fresh garments. Preview the collection below:


MOS DEF COLLECTION BY DUSTIN CANALIN FOR UNDRCRWN.COM from Dustin Canalin on Vimeo.

Also, in other news, Mos Def shoots a promotional video for his new album. Watch the teaser below:

Mos Def - Words - The Ecstatic - in stores Spring 2009


Sorry that today's Hip Hop Current Events all revolve around one man, but Mos Def is in the forefront of everything right now from fashion, music, and film. Mad talented individual. Plus, Kingalings already covered Asher Roth who seems to be creating a buzz as of late. But, I don't know how I feel about him yet.

Peace, love and understanding,
Sir Allan John.

gosh, thats just great

he looks like ron weasley here


when asher roth first came on the scene i was a little skeptical just as i am with all new artists. his mixtape the greenhouse effect was..unique. skepticism aside, roth's witty and ridiculous lyrics remind us of the lighter side of hip hop. hype, get out of the way. hes just having fun and maybe thats something we need these days. below is his new video showing exactly what im talking about. the song is entitled "lark on my gokart"
enjoy
kingalings

"mario kart skills are outrageous, play me any day and ill be the best racist, wait no erase it, meant to say racer" haha