Cosby's Back!

Bill Cosby's path has taken him from pudding pops to hip-hop.

The 70-year-old has recorded a hip-hop album set for release next month. "Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency" blends the comedian's concepts and stories with a hip-hop, pop and jazz soundtrack.

"I do not rap on any of these things," Cosby told The Associated Press on Monday. "I wouldn't know how to fix my mouth to say some of the words."

Cosby said the hip-hop music he hears is profane and degrading. His album is "the opposite of what I think is the profanity for no particular reason, the misogyny for no particular reason," he said. "It really looks at the frustration and the anger that a young man may have."

The album, assembled by Cosby's longtime musical collaborator Bill "Spaceman" Patterson, contains rhymes provided by guest rappers. The subject matter? "The value of an education. The value of respecting one's self and ... giving (listeners) a chance to raise their self-esteem and confidence," Cosby said.

Patterson said he was surprised when Cosby first inquired about making a rap record -- until the comedian revealed he wouldn't be the one doing the rapping.

"People started speculating, is he going to rap about Jell-O Pudding Pops or what?" Patterson said. "But he's always been involved in music and he was there for the first generation of spoken word. ... He has always understood rap's potential, but he was appalled by the foul language and the misogyny -- the way people used a medium that could be used to elevate people, to open their eyes and provoke thought."

Cosby made the album as a companion to his 2007 best-selling book, "Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors." And though he doesn't expect the CD to be a huge hit, it won't be his last hip-hop venture.

"We can do even better," he said. "The next one will be even more cheerleading."

Sampling in Hip Hop Part 2

Revealing the Source: Keep it on the Low
A Hip Hop On My Mind 2 Part Series

In Part 1, I left off discussing sampling’s history and legal status. Now we move into sampling today. 

Like I mentioned before, current producers have expressed concerns that sample sets posted on forums 

are hurting the game. Personally, I agree. As a producer myself, I would admit that for the most part I don’t want my samples revealed.

The most recent producer that has spoken out is Madlib. Apparently, ‘Lib found blogger Kevin Nottingham’s sample set from the album Madvilliany and demanded via a myspace message that it be taken down. 

"Pages like this on the internet are no help at all to people like Doom, Madlib, and those that work with them" said Madlib, originally born Otis Jackson Jr. 

Fellow bloggers like Ivan on Hip-Hop is Read defend their counterparts in the matter. He posted, “We're just trying to learn about the art form (of sampling in particular) and spread it forth for everyone who shares our interests in this great music, culture and lifestyle we call Hip-Hop.”

While we have wikipedia, the-breaks.com and other sites dedicated to finding samples, one must consider the legal ramifications that come with disclosing samples. Sure many albums reveal samples in their liner notes. However, producers like Madlib, Dilla, and Doom chop the most obscure records in the smallest of doses for their tracks. 

They fly under the radar and since they’re not “mainstream, commercial” artists, they can 

avoid sample clearances. However, when you make a detailed list of the songs sampled, somehow the original artists come a callin’ through the grape vine looking for owed royalties.

This argument has been thrown through the ringer as of late, and I do not wish to try and restate what many other bloggers have already said. I would just like to dedicate my support to Madlib and other artists that would like to keep their craft special. I know that if and when I make my mark on the business, I will not want half-ass producer wannabees compiling and posting all the samples I’ve made to make hits. 

Honestly, when I am digging, and happen to find a sample I’ve heard before, it’s cool. I might bring it up if someone has the record on and we’re chilling; however to go out of the way and identify the samples really ruins the fun of digging. Get out there and find that Jackson 5 sample that Dilla flipped, or try and get any of the 45’s that Mack the 45 King used in his sample career. But whatever you choose to do, remember that music is a business, and people will always strive to collect their checks. 

Though I will admit that I bought the official Blue Note sample set, Sources For Madlib's Shades Of Blue Untinted, for the Sources of Blue album that Madlib made for them, and the chops are crazy!

Keep sampling people, keep real hip-hop alive.

The Carter III Cover: Hoax or Truth?

Amazon.com released the supposed cover of The Carter III today on their website, for pre-order sales. The cover, shown above, depicts a "Little" Wayne with a few of his more notable tattoos. While Weezy's label, Universal, has yet to comment on the artwork, acclaimed photographer Jonathan Mannion was singing a different tune about the cover's concept in an interview on HipHopDX.com (Click for story).

The Buck Stops Here

It's [semi] official. Young Buck is out of G-Unit.  Still signed to the G-Unit imprint as a solo artist, 50 Cent made it clear on the Miss Jones Morning show that he was out of the group.

"You can look at it and see that's Game all the way. I was giving him a chance, giving him the benefit of the doubt [to remain with the group]. You can take this as an official notice right here – pretty much you can say: Young Buck is no longer in the group G-Unit, but signed to G-Unit as a solo artist."

News is fresh, but details will follow. Fortunately, unlike my Lil' Wayne cop out news, this has been confirmed by a number of sources. Check out the Hot 97 Interview yourself on hiphopdx.com...click here

Featured Artist: Hollywood Floss

Producers are gear heads. It’s no secret. It doesn’t matter if its got keys, pads, or buttons, if it has got interesting new sounds, it’s in demand. All the big names (Roland, Yamaha, Korg) are releasing new keyboards into the market, however some of the most innovative pieces of music gear are coming from Open Labs. Everyone from Timbaland to the Goo Goo Dolls are using their MiKo and NeKo synth/DAW workstations. Today’s featured artist, Hollywood Floss, is an Open Labs sponsored artist, and he explains more about using their products.

Cicero: Floss I appreciate you taking the time to talk about these great new musical instruments. Explain a little bit about yourself and musical background.

Floss: Nah man I appreciate you. The blog is looking promising and I hope you continue your success. As for me I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and been rapping since 1999. I started with a 7-member crew called Texas Ballers and it was great at first but faltered in 2003 as a result of arguments and lost of distribution. At that point it crushed me mentally, I had put 100% into it and got 0% in return. I wouldn't continue music again until 2005 when I rejoined with 2 members of the Texas Ballers and became The W.E.B.

Cicero: What do you think is an advantage of being both a producer and rapper?

Floss: The biggest advantage is if no one likes your beats chances are they like your rhymes or vice versa. I'm not a one trick pony, so the industry sees me as valuable somewhat, look @ Kanye, Rza, Pete Rock, Havoc & Necro all producer/rappers that can do both well. I started producing out of love for sampling & urgency. I wouldn't even call it producing more so beat making, I don't want to take away from the Dre's and Timbo's (haha). No one was looking out as far as beats go, so I had to put my rapping on hold and work on making beats for the group. In the span of 2 years the hard work has really paid off.

Cicero: Why did you decide to purchase your Open Labs product?

Floss: I purchased the Openlabs product because of the workflow & my NON- midi comprehension LOL. As a beat maker/rapper my most important criteria is simple workflow and tons of sounds at my disposal and the Miko fits that. With all external keyboards it gets messy and space consuming, so I wanted to eliminate all those; besides with the Miko I can clone a keyboard and still use the sounds inside the Miko.

Cicero: Are you producing exclusively in the Open Labs’ Environments or are you using any external computer-based programs?

Floss: When I first started using the Miko it was strictly their sounds tweaked with their plug-ins. But now that I've had it for a while I've added outside programs such as Kontakt 3, Sonik Synth 2, and B4.

Cicero: Now how did the Featured Artist from Open Labs come about?

Floss: The featured artist slot came from a video I made displaying how I used the Miko in my setup. I made a beat using all Miko stock sounds and uploaded it for the music community to see. Valerie Fouche (open labs rep) happened to see the video and called me a week later offering the featured artist spot. I gladly accepted the sponsorship.

Cicero: What opportunities have come your way from this affiliation with them?

Floss: Besides the featured artist section, I also performed live on the Open Labs showcase back in Jan. 2008. The webcast was a live stream event that displayed new product lines and various sponsored artist. Furthermore I've started youtube TV series showing different features in the Miko.

Cicero: What are you working on now?

Floss: Currently I'm working on another group album to follow up to last years release "Ain't Nuttin' But Muzik". Also I plan my first solo release later this year as well. I'm always down to collab; so get at me through myspace.com/hwflossss

Cicero: Thanks for the interview, I know a lot of other producers are looking to get with Open Labs gear, so I appreciate you giving us a little bit of insight. Where can people hear your music, or get a hold of you?

Floss: First and foremost myspace.com/hwflossss is the best place to reach me. I check my myspace at least twice a day. Also I go by floss on futureproducers.com and Niketalk.com, and lastly but not least I'm on youtube under the name yuppy808.

I'd also like to thank the massive amount of Producers, Rappers, Bands, Musicians, and Industry Personnel that have messaged me to be featured on this blog. I plan on bringing more up-and-coming artists to you every Tuesday and Thursday, including some surprisingly influential names. Keep checking back, and subscribe to the feed to find interesting interviews each week. Also, make sure to hit me up at myspace.com/ciceroproaudio or ncicero0@gmail.com if you'd like your musical entity featured on here!

Check out "I Know This Luv," from Hollywood Floss below!

Remix Radiohead...for a fee

For years bands like the Nine Inch Nails have released "tracked-out" version of their songs, for users of the Apple program Garageband. They released these on their own website, and gave fans a chance to remix their songs for album releases. Burger King had a remix contest for the Super Bowl 2 years ago, and the band Blonde Redhead had one last year (which I created the Garageband file for.)

Radiohead has decided to follow this trend, however they have added their own twist to it. You have to buy the tracks! According to iTunes they are, "giving fans a chance to remix the blissful third track from the groundbreaking album In Rainbows."

Buying the EP on iTunes before April 8th will give you an exclusive e-mail access code for a Garageband File download.

I'm not sure whether I will buy a remix kit or not, I really don't like that the band is charging for the track stems. I understand it is their personal right and intellectual property, but people remix songs for fun, and making people pay for that privilage is silly. That's just the way I feel though.

If you do remix the song, send me a copy of it, and I'll put it in an iMeem playlist for all the readers to hear.

Featured Artist: Tha Q

Today’s feature artist is DC’s own Tha Q. Educator by day, rapper by night, Q practices his craft for the love of hip hop. He recently opened up a myspace page and has started networking with producers and DJs in order to keep finding new challenges. He’s got some insightful views on the current state of hip hop and how he keeps himself grounded and real without going commercial.

Cicero: So Q, How and when did you first get into rapping?

Tha Q: Haaaa....good question...Honestly, looking back, my entire life has been a prime and prep-session for what I'd eventually end up doing. I'm a kid of the 80s. So, I grew up listening to Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Salt N Pepa, and Run DMC. I've always been into poetry. But, it wasn't until I heard the Late-great Biggie Smalls' album, "Ready to Die", that I truly feel in love with rap. I mean, it was something new and exciting to me, Biggie's music that is. That was back in 1999. I didn't record for the first time until a couple years later. I was still developing my style. I finally grew into my current persona of Tha Q in 2004. The rest is history and the future.

Cicero: You’ve stayed relatively unknown by today’s standards. You have just set up a myspace account and are beginning to reach out to other musicians. Why the sudden change?

Tha Q: Man, are you reading my mind? We're on a psychic wavelength here. That's another good question bro. I have a sense of urgency. I don't want to come across as narcissistic, but I realize that life is fleeting and we all have a purpose. I recently turned 30 years old, which is ancient by many standards. But, I realize that it's the perfect age to launch my music. I'm young enough to still be culturally relevant, yet old enough to have insight and experience. I look at myself as a bridge to future generations. Rap is the vehicle that will carry me there. When I was younger, people said I didn't have a shot in rap. I didn't quit. Now that I'm older, people say the same thing. You see the pattern here? When I eventually achieve my goals in rap, I will be satisfied and not concerned with how it's perceived. I want to be heard. I want my music to be spread all over the world. I want everyone to know my name

Cicero: You talk about being “old” in rap. There's a term "Contemporary Adult Hip Hop" has been circulating around a number of different artists these days. What do you think about that term being applied to artists, as opposed to the young cats that rule the airwaves today?

Tha Q: I haven't heard of that term...I was thinking about this topic and my target audience today. It's interesting. My appeal is very broad. But, something that surprised me was when I found out that I have many rural and suburban white fans. This kid from Iowa of all places made a Myspace page in my honor. It's crazy. On top of that, he and his "rocker" friends have a video on Youtube with a track of mine as the background music. I can assure you that when I made that song, and all my songs, I wasn't thinking Billy-Bob from Idaho would be bangin' my music. Honestly, it's pretty amazing...What it says to me is I have the potential to have a big impact in the game if I stay real, humble, and true to myself.

Cicero: What projects are you working on now?

Tha Q: I'm working on my 4th mixtape called Man Up. It's coming along nicely. It just feels right, because I’m not forcing anything. If I'm not feeling something, I quit it...nix it...I'm not force fitting anything on this joint.

Cicero: Where can people listen to your stuff?

Tha Q: Well...I've been slow to hop on the digital revolution; even though I spread my music mostly online...I do have a myspace, www.myspace.com/thaqraps. I have a new video up on Youtube. Just type in Tha Q and I'm there at the top. It's a song about HIV awareness I did for an MTV contest. I hope to hear from them soon with some good news. Wish me luck! I was also recently featured at lyrickings.com, which is a up and coming rap site. Other than that, you'll have to wait to see me on MTV! haaa...For real though, hit me up on my cell: 301 437 4786 if you want to collab. I'm about the art. I'm not doing this for fame or fortune.

Take a listen to Tha Q's track "Rain I See," produced by Nick Cicero, below.