Speaking of outerspace, I caught up with Erykah Badu last month for this Time Out story, just a few days before she stripped down in front of the grassy knoll. I got to have a nice, laid-back, extra-casual conversation with her—in a dressing room at Jimmy Fallon—the full text of which you can read here. Read to the end for the dramatic conclusion.
Bronx dancehall dude Skerrit Bwoy recently turned up as a talking point on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, during a visit from Aziz Ansari. (Apparently, the two made fast friends). I first heard about Skerrit five or six years ago, back when he was better known as “Sponge Bob.” Now the face of Major Lazer and the international ambassador for daggering (surely, not an easy job), he’s having a bit of a moment. Figured I’d document it in this TONY profile.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on any current matters so I thought I’d put together a little roundup of recent published work. In December, I had the opportunity to interview Mariah Carey for Time Out New York’s “Hot Seat” section. Mariah is from around my way in L.I., and we really hit it off. Here’s the version of our interview that ran in the magazine. I’m thinking of posting the full text of our conversation, though, because it was so entertaining from beginning to end. That girl is funny. Let me know if you’d be interested in reading that.
TONY also recently asked me to put together a walking tour of the South Bronx for their current issue, which you can read here.
I’ve recently started contributing to the Washington Post (good looking out, Chris Richards). You can read the first two pieces I’ve done for them, reviews of the new Clipse and RJD2 albums, here and here. I’ve got some much bigger things in the works with them as well…
I’m now blogging about reggae and other Caribbean matters at Large Up, a new site my homey Dave a.k.a. DJ Gravy and Martei Korley have started in partnership with Okayplayer.. Here are a fewrecentposts.
In light of the other day’s NYC Badmen tribute, I thought I’d put together a list of the most essential tracks blending dancehall vocals with hip-hop beats. Why aren’t there any mixtapes of this nature? Meant for this to be up in time for last weekend’s Labor Day celebration but that would have been too appropriate.
SUPER CAT-”GHETTO RED HOT (HIP-HOP MIX)” (1992)
No one captured the Brooklyn/Kingston culture clash better than Super Cat. This video for “Ghetto Red Hot” was filmed in Brooklyn and Kingston not long after the Wild Apache allegedly shot and killed Nitty Gritty outside a Flatbush record shop, in apparent self-defense. Read the rest of this entry »
