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.

T.I. Totally Innocent No More

T.I. entered a plea of guilty to the charges he faced of possessing unregistered machine guns and silencers (two counts), and possessing firearms after having been convicted of a felony.

"While I'm not looking forward to being incarcerated, I have a long road of redemption to travel," T.I. said, reading a statement outside the Atlanta federal courthouse. "I am dedicated and committed to that."

T.I. will be sentenced on these charges a year from today on March 27, 2009. If he abides by the conditions of his plea agreement he will be sentenced a year from now to one year plus one day in federal prison. He was originally facing a maximum of 10 years in prison and quarter-million dollar fines for each count against him.

Reportedly, the plea agreement stated he must perform 1,000 hours of community service, which will include speaking to "at-risk young people," promoting respect for law enforcement, opposing violence, illegal and reckless use of firearms, illegal drugs and gang activity.

Until his sentencing T.I. will remain under monitored home confinement, where he has been since he was released on $3 million bond on October 26th to await trial.

After T.I.’s change-of-plea hearing today and subsequent sentencing he will still be eligible for a reduced commitment to the court if he fulfills the terms of this agreement and maintains good behavior while incarcerated. Because his sentence is technically longer than one year, he is eligible to earn 15 percent time off for good behavior.

T.I. had reportedly been working on his sixth solo album, Paper Trail, while on house arrest, but the status of that recording is unknown now.

Featured Artist: J.Troup

Today's featured artist is Music Producer J. Troup. He, along with his Black Atom Production company has made a name for himself on numerous Hip hop blogs, and has received praise from many industry executives, most notably a large "big-up" from Badboy A&R Conrad Dimanche. Troup is known for his "keyboard" productions, meaning free of the traditional samples...however he is certainly no stranger to all facets of the production game. 

His Myspace has over 30k plays and he's always open and active on the forums. 

J.Troup is the next big thing in Hip-Hop/R&B Production.

Cicero: To start off, I want to know about the gear! I've seen your videos on Youtube and all, so go ahead and share some of your favorite pieces of gear.

Troup: Well first off, I wanna thank you for the interest in what I do. It's my goal to inspire as well as make a significant impact in the industry. God is good, and he's blessing me, so I try to be a blessing to those around me. With that said, I'm not as big a gear slut as one may think! And of course I mean gear slut in the most respectful way possible lol! I mean, I got the usual...Cubase is the centerpiece of my setup, it's where I do all my sequencing, mixing, etc. Then i got Reason 4.0, can't live without that. Then of course there's the Triton Studio (which was my very first piece of gear), and the Fantom X6 with a few expansion boards in it. I just ordered the Open Labs MiKo (Timbaland Special Edition), which I'm like a kid waiting for Santa Claus with that piece! It's gon' take my imagination to a whole other level, and I can't wait!

Cicero: Even though versatility is crucial in today's business, producers still have their own signature sound. How do you create music that is unique, yet still follows mainstream needs?

Troup: You know, that's funny, because I used to be of the opinion that I don't want a signature sound. I want people to WONDER who did those tracks. I didn't want my music to be INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE, because I didn't want to get pigeonholed into one sound, and then when that sound dies off, my career dies off right along with it. We've all seen that happen before. But then I realized that apart of BUILDING A BRAND is having a distinct, instantly recognizable product in the market place.

It's like Coke...you KNOW that logo, even if you see it on the moon. When you taste a Coke, you don't just think "hmm...this is good, I wonder who made it?" As soon as it hits your tastebuds, you KNOW it's a Coke. So that's what I have to do with my sound. I just have to make it interesting enough for people to keep coming back.

It's so funny you should ask that, cuz when I was out at the One Stop Shop producers conference, Me and DJ Toomp talked for about 20 minutes about this very thing. He told me to just do me. Don't worry about what other people want from you. Denaun Porter (of D12) told me that he's turned projects down, because they didn't fit into his desired career progression. He told me that sometimes you have to say NO to certain things...you gotta think long term.

So really, I just try to make music that's different, but not TOO different. Because for real, the mainstream doesn't KNOW what it wants in advance. They just know hot when they hear it. They didn't know they wanted Timbo and The Neptunes until they got it, and when those 2 first started, they were as UN-MAINSTREAM as you could get!

So really, I just try to keep it fresh, try to push the envelope, and try to stay ahead of the curve. So right now, I'm trying to make music that's gon be fresh in 2010. If you're making music that sounds like what's out today, you've already lost the game.

Cicero: Who are you listening to right now, in terms of current music?

Troup: Honestly, I listen to everything. I used to be so anti-radio, but it's the stuff that's on the radio that people are liking. So for real, every time I'm in the car, I turn on the radio to hear what the people are listening to, just so I know. But my personal tastes? I love The Dream's album. Tricky and Los did their thing, and The Dream came with some hot songs. Snoop has a nice album, I'm loving the production that Teddy Riley came with. Can't wait for that QDT project to drop. Janet Jackson's album was hot, Lupe's album was the sh*t too. Jordin Sparks had a nice album too.

I can't wait for that Lil Wayne to drop. That lil boy been nice since he was 10 years old. I wanna hear what BG is going to come with now that he's back on a major. Oh, and that Young Jeezy is my sh*t...Jeezy like ta drank, Jeezy like ta smoke...That song is fire...definitely my favorite.

But I listen to some of everything. If it's hot and innovative, then I'll listen to it. I'm a fan of music!

Cicero: So you've been featured on the Producers Marketplace (PMP) Site twice, both in your own video and with the Conrad Dimanche shout out. What do you think of the PMP site, and it's sub-par imitators?

Troup: Man, I can't say enough good things about PMP! Shout out to Abom, Rad and AZ. They are all great guys, and doing some really controversial, ground breaking things with PMP. I had the chance to talk to them when I was up in NYC about some of the things they got coming up with PMP, and best believe it's not your ordinary "get placements" site. The overall vision is ridiculous!

But as far as the "sub-par" competitors?? LOL...I'm not gonna say any site is sub-par, because they wouldn't exist if there weren't a market for them. Granted, some of them do exist just to exploit the dreams (and lunch monies) of the young and dumb, but not all of them. Everything has it's place in the market.

I prefer PMP, because first off, Conrad Dimanche is a partner in the site. You got someone who's been an industry taste maker for over 10 years putting his dollars behind this venture. That speaks volumes for me. Secondly, the price tag...PMP is not cheap. So just with that pricetag, it's gonna keep away the hobbyist beat-makers. Alot of the other sites are cluttered with guys who just downloaded a cracked copy of Fruity Loops last month, and are trying to get records placed. I don't want to deal with that.

So every site has it's place and it's market that it serves, but I'm not going to personally call any of them sub-par. I happen to know J-Hatch and Don from iStandard (shout out to them!!), and even though it's a PMP competitor, they run a GREAT site and provide a great service to a slightly different segment of the market.

Personally, I just happen to prefer PMP, for my own needs at the moment. Those guys have been incredibly supportive of me and my pursuits, and my loyalty to them is eternal.

People ask me all the time have I gotten any placements from PMP. I tell them no. But I also tell them that "placements" is not my goal at this stage. My goal is exposure. Because you can have all the hot beats in the world, but if people don't know you, then your hot beats aren't gonna get you anywhere. So PMP has helped me greatly in my quest for exposure.

So many people in the industry have heard the name J.Troup, and the exposure that I've gotten on PMP has helped out greatly with that. There are people who have made like $50,000 off PMP by selling tracks. So PMP is what you make it. Clearly it works for selling tracks. And it most definitely works for exposing you to a greater audience!

But as with any site like that, it is what you make it. If you expect to just send your tracks to the projects and get placements instantly, then you can hang that up. You might get lucky, but more than likely, you'll get frustrated with wasting your money and quit in 2 months.

Cicero: Yeah I feel you on that. I'm not on PMP yet myself because I want to make sure when I officially introduce myself to the game I'm bringing the best product I can. Can you share any projects you're either working on now or recently completed?

Troup: Well, let's just say my phone has been ringing. There's nothing set in stone yet, but the more exposure I get, the more my phone is ringing, and the more important the people on the other end of the phone are!

But I'm doing some work with a singer that's signed to Stargate, and also doing some work with a singer who's signed to Atlantic. I also got some tracks from a multi platinum producer that wants some songs written for a particular artists...and I'm trying to put these songs to bed(*wink*)!

Other than that, I'm just grinding. I'm trying to increase my exposure level. My phone and email are blowing up every day, so expect to hear more of J.Troup in the next 12 to 18 months!!

Cicero: Thanks for lending me your time, I know you run a busy schedule. Tell the readers where they can get more info about you.

Troup: Oh no, thank you, and I hope I didn't talk your ear off! I get kinda long winded about music, but hey, it's what I love!

People can get more info on me from a few different places. My Myspace, my website, my email is jtroup@blackatomproductions.com, or my Youtube Channel. Of course my PMP link is www.pmpworldwide.com/j-troup

Of course, I'm always available by phone... 646.256.4076. I just have to ask people to be respectful of my time, and to only call me if you're trying to do some business. Don't call to see if it's really me, because it is! lol.

If you just have questions or something, then hit me on myspace or youtube, or email. I personally answer every message that I get, fairly quickly.

Cicero: Thanks Troup, can't wait to hear from you on the radio!

Listen to J.Troup's New Track, Pull It Off:

Rocloop.com Brings Rochester Life to College Students

Do you pick up a newspaper every morning when you eat breakfast? Of course not. In fact, most college students barely have time to slam a bagel or down a cup of juice on their way to their first class. The website Rocloop.com aims to change all that, bringing pertinent news, stories, and other information to area college students.

We receive our news much different than our parents do. They read the paper, we read the blogs; they watch the six o’clock news, we check Youtube; they listen to talk radio, we listen to podcasts. Rocloop.com is a website sponsored by the Democrat and Chronicle, created by college interns geared towards bringing the Rochester community to the local students.

A visit to Rocloop.com will show the story of the day, with an array of other information on the sidebars. Navigation on top menus will direct you to different areas of the site, feature sections stuffed full of information. The guides section is a course in “Rochester 101,” where you can find the best places to get coffee, watch sporting events, see a concert or art showing. Unique to Rocloop.com, the 360° panoramic views of various coffee shops will give you the scoop on a good cup of java for a study break. If you want to know bar specials, or band appearances, you can find it on the calendar that hugs the right side of the home page.

While the site is a wealth of knowledge, there are also many fun features only available on Rocloop.com. The “60-Second Rant” and “Someone to Know” segments offer a closer look at people and issues that interest college students. From RIT ice climbers, to gripes about Bluetooth Headsets and Naz Parking, the features of Rocloop.com are sure to keep you reading.

Registration at Rocloop.com is a great way to stay connected, and also a great way to win prizes. When you register you are automatically entered into a drawing for a weekly $20 gift card, and become eligible for other upcoming promotions. Rocloop.com is a place for college students to interact because, as Rocloop.com’s motto states, it is “Your College, Your life, Our Rochester.”

ROCLOOP.COM IS GIVING AWAY A NINTENDO Wii AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER...

ROCHESTER AREA COLLEGE STUDENTS 

CAN REGISTER WITH A .EDU EMAIL ADDRESS

WIN A Wii!

Nazareth Chosen for Princeton Review's "Best 368 Colleges: 2009 Edition"

My college, Nazareth College is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. Nazareth is one of only four schools in the nation to be added to the forthcoming edition of The Best 368 Colleges: 2009 Edition (Random House/Princeton Review Books, $21.95 paperback). The book will be available in bookstores in late July 2008.

“We chose Nazareth College as one of our ‘best’ undergraduate colleges for this, our flagship college guide, based on several criteria we consider when reviewing schools for the book. First, we must have a high regard for their academic programs and other offerings. Our selections also take into account institutional data we collect from the schools and the opinions of students attending them whom we survey. We also greatly value the feedback we get about schools from our college-savvy staff across the country as well as from students, educators and parents who use our services and books," said Robert Franek, V.P. & Publisher-The Princeton Review.

“The announcement that our college was selected for this honor has created a buzz of excitement on the Nazareth campus,” said Nazareth President Daan Braveman. “We have been included in Princeton Review’s Best in the Northeast and now are pleased to be included in the national ranking. As one of only four schools to be added to the 2009 edition, Nazareth is extremely proud of its work to earn this distinction.”

Nazareth College is also one of only two institutions in New York State that The Princeton Review is adding to the book this year. The other is City University of New York / Baruch College. They join 40 other schools in New York State in the book.

“The Best 368 Colleges: 2009 Edition presents a wide range of colleges in the book. Only about 10% of the colleges in the nation are in it, and they vary by region, size, selectivity and character,” said Franek. “Each one is an outstanding institution we highly recommend to college applicants and their parents. In our opinion, these are ‘the crème of the crop’ institutions for undergraduates in America. "

What distinguishes The Princeton Review's annual Best Colleges guide from all other college guides is that it is the only one offering both two-page profiles on the schools and student survey-based college ranking lists in over 60 categories. The lists report the book’s top 20 colleges in categories that range from the teaching ability of the faculty (“Profs Get High Marks”) to campus amenities (“Best Campus Food”) to aspects of the campus culture (most liberal / most conservative student bodies).

The Princeton Review itself does not rank the colleges in the book hierarchically - 1 to 368 – either for academics (the company believes all 368 schools are first-rate, academically) or by any other category. The book’s school profiles include dozens of quoted comments from surveyed students at each school.

Nazareth College is an independent, coeducational college with studies in the liberal arts and sciences, and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Nazareth is committed to experiential learning, civic responsibility, and student/faculty engagement. In the past decade, twelve Nazareth students and eight professors have been awarded highly competitive Fulbright scholarships. For updated information on the College and its initiatives and programs, visit www.naz.edu.

Britney's Coming Back Already?

I was walking through the grocery store last night when I saw the headline "Inside Britney's Comeback." Of course it was on a tabloid...

Tell me, how Britney is already making a comeback? She's been all over the news from no hair to middle eastern boyfriend or whatever he is, lil' sis is getting smashed out by half of Hollywood...and now she's making a 

COMEBACK?!?!?!? 

I saw the preview for her guest spot on that Neil Patrick Harris show about a million times watching the NCAA games this weekend...she looks good. Damn good still if you ask me.

IDK what the hell she's thinking...but I wish she would go back to a being a nice girl, being hot and making music that makes people dance...and not this mythical creature that she appears to be.

BTW I got an interview with Producer J.Troup coming tomorrow...check it out!

Featured Artist: Brown

You know I can't wait too long to get new posts out. The first featured artist is a rapper by the name of Brown. I actually produced a few tracks for Brown. He's from Milwaukee and currently preparing a new EP.

Cicero: Milwaukee isn't generally known as a hip hop hotspot, how do you get your music heard in a small region in the business?

Brown: The internet is a huge help, especially for me in a small region. I've made a lot of connections with producers and many new fans through myspace and other spots.

Cicero: What are you currently working on?

Brown: I'm currently working on my album, Charlie. I feel it's my best project yet.

Cicero: Besides myself, what other producers are you working with?

Brown: Lots of guys, there's you of course, and also Filthy Productions, Real See, Nasty Kutt and more.

Cicero: Who are some of your musical influences?

Brown: My main musical influences are Tupac, Scarface, and Yo Gotti

Cicero: Where can readers listen to your music?

Brown: myspace.com/MoneyMadeRecords

Check out Brown's track "Ballers" produced by Filthy below:

Pennywise's New Approach to Digital Music

Received a message from Pennywise today, about their free digital album...thought I'd share

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Here is what you’ve been waiting for…

Here is how to download your copy of Pennywise's Reason To Believe – FOR FREE!

Make sure you're logged into your MySpace account and you are friends with Textango.

Click this link or go to:
http://promos.myspace.com/download.ashx?pid=1&did=

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I'm not a fan, but it's a nice way to market

Coming Soon...Cicero's Featured Artists

Too many cats are on their grind, with only myspace to help them out. I've decided to put the call out to artists that want to be featured on this site. It's not going to be too long, just a little blurb about them and their upcoming projects. There's always a potential for mixtapes and other compilations from this, but for now I'm just going to start bringing you the new cats. If you or someone you know want to be involved with this, send an email to ncicero0@gmail.com or hit my myspace (link on the right)

iMeem Playlist is Up

I added an iMeem playlist with some beats I've made to the left of the page. Leave a comment if you like them, and check out my myspace page (link on right) for more. Also beats are always for sale/lease so hit me up. Thanks.

10 Digging Secrets

Fuck the sample CDs and Compilations...Go out and dig yourself. Fortunately we have movies like the Deep Crates Series and The Beat Kings to keep the excitement of digging up. If you're looking for some tips, try these:

1. Follow The Leader – If someone has already sampled an artist chances are that there are more hot used and unused breaks & samples by that very same artist.

2. Follow The Musicians & Producers – So you like that crazy piano sample, sound, or that unique feeling the song seems to evoke? Guess what… you can probably find that same artist playing even better on another album. Many times musicians and producers worked on different projects with each other and you can catch someone early on in their career putting down some great sounds with another group.

3. Watch The Year - Just like the golden age of Hip Hop, each genre has had its highs and lows and there are virtually no exceptions. Jazz, Funk, Soul, and Rock have all had their great time periods containing distinctive styles of the times.

4. Know Your Resources – Read the All Music Guide, Read album liners, online sample databases, Wax Poetics, sample dictionary books.

5. Make Friends With Diggers – Although digging is generally very secretive and almost anitsocial, if you have a friend that knows their stuff you can both put each other up on records while digging.

6. Trust Your Intuition – A certain spidey sense tends to develop after spending a bit of time getting dusty in the bins.

7. Become A Label Whore – Many of the best artists had a tendency to hang around the same label and be produced by the same people. Some of the more known examples of this are Kudu, Blue Note, Westbound, and CTI.

8. Develop Your Ear, Personal Style, And Love For Music – This is probably the most important piece of the lesson. You will only become a successful digger if you truly have a love of music. This may be beyond the comprehension of many; however loving Hip Hop and loving music are two completely different concepts. I know many people who claim to love music, but the only time they listen to anything other than Hip Hop is when they are looking for samples. Most diggers I know would rather listen to Soul, Funk, Rock or Jazz than Hip Hop. For some reason it’s a natural progression to appreciate the true creativity of the original players. After falling in love with an artist’s work and really getting into their catalog, you’ll eventually be able to recognize the styles of many musicians and develop the ability to guess an artist when you hear them playing on another unknown track.

9. Purchase A Portable Turntable – This is the single most important factor that has caused a great increase in my digging success. I have saved an immense amount of time, money, and aggravation by avoiding worthless records. I’ve also been able to pick up many records that I would have passed over and would have never known about because of the fear of taking a risk and plunking down large sums for unknown records with nothing on them. The investment hurts a little bit in the beginning, but the key word is investment and it eventually pays huge dividends.

10. Keep An Open Mind – Listen to everything and I mean everything, except for Country of course! You will stumble upon finds in some of the most surprising areas and genres. Also, to contradict my earlier tip… don’t judge a record by its cover. You will find great breaks and samples on some of the worst looking covers.

Bonus Tip:

Keep Digging – Be strong, develop your endurance, and dig until you can’t dig anymore. The best diggers keep digging for hours and entire days to make sure that they have covered every bit of whatever location they may be at. This may mean that you have to run out and grab a coffee, but make sure that you get make into the mix. You never know what you could be passing up.

Role Models for Girls Suck Sometimes...

Originally Published in the March Gleaner Issue...

Why can ANYONE in the entertainment business, at any time, become an “aspiring singer?” These artists are just trash, and their music is over commercialized for the consumption for the mindless MTVers that buy the songs. Very few female artists out there now promote a positive message for girls. Stars these days seem to have some racy mishap surrounding their careers. I’ll count down from number four to number one of ladies that are ruining music right now.




Have you seen Heidi Montag’s (#4) new video? If you haven’t seen it, the song is called “Higher” and it features Heidi and her new “twins” rolling around a deserted beach in a teeny weeny little bikini. This Hills star is the just the newest “celebutant” on the block.




Coming in at number three is Brooke Hogan. She starred on VH1’s Hogan Knows Best, leading to her official debut album in 2006. She had a semi successful hit in “About Us” with Houston rapper Paul Wall, made popular only by the viewers of her show. Her father/manager, Hulk Hogan, has done everything he can to keep her positive and “clean.” However throughout the season of the show we see her desire sex up her appearance for the limelight. Since then she has had little to no success.





Number Two. Lindsey Lohan. The interesting thing about Lindsey is that she’s had a fairly decent music career sales-wise. Her first album, Speak, actually went platinum (one million units sold) and her second album, despite lack of promotion, went gold (500,000 units sold.) However since then she has been in the news as a frequent partier and cocaine aficionado, which is exactly what shouldn’t be in music marketed towards teens. While she and her manager may claim that her music is for adults, her fan base is comprised largely of young teens. Her role model status fails in my eyes.




Finally We’re at Number One. You know her, you love to hate her…Paris Hilton. Through her rich upbringing, she’s moved into the celebrity class, starring in a number of failed movies. She is the quintessential B-Actor, so naturally she decided to try her hand at music. Led by the single “Stars are Blind,” which became a dance club hit; her 2006 album Paris was a flop. To this date she has sold only 607,000 copies worldwide. She’s also had a nice video adaptation of her romp in the sheets, as well as her stint in jail for DUIs.

These girls are treated as stars by the media and by many of our very own friends and siblings. The problem with these four stars is the message they portray to our youth. Each of them has had some controversial situation that we would not want our sisters or daughters to emulate. Why should we allow this to happen? We are the ones perpetuating them by watching their TV shows and movies. As many of you know I am a music producer, and am starting to experience many of these people first-hand. What I have seen is that the businesses COUNT ON VIEWERS TO SELF-PROMOTE THE MUSIC. I am asking that we all stand up for good, meaningful music from quality acts. Now I haven’t mentioned rock or rap groups, and trust me they’re not faultless either, however these acts seem to have more of an influence on older people, who have a choice on their behaviors. These young people are shaped by their surroundings, and need more Miley Cyrus’s and Hillary Duffs to look up to.

Sampling in Hip Hop Part 1

Sampling’s Origins and Legality

A Hip Hop On My Mind Three Part Series

Sampling has been a part of hip-hop since it’s very inception. It was the main lifeblood of a musical genre that grew out of the funk and disco scene in the seventies and early eighties. As of late, articles written by bloggers Gooch from XXL, and Ivan from Hip-Hop is Read have brought an old topic back into the hip-hop community’s forefront. The issue of sampling and its legality has and will always be a dividing force between the new and old school. However that will be discussed in Part 2. First, for people unfamiliar with sampling, I present a brief, and I mean BRIEF history.

The earliest Party DJ’s would find the musical break portion of certain records and blend or cut them into one long musical vamp. Often times you could take seemingly corny records and turn them into party smashes. For example, the Run-DMC song, Mary Mary comes from the Monkees.

Many songs like this received new fame as the pioneers of hip-hop scrambled to find the best records with the best breaks and grooves. The new culture of hip-hop started as a South Bronx underground scene and grew to a nationwide, and eventually a worldwide phenomenon. 

This form of sampling dominated the early era of hip hop until DJ Marley Marl accidentally discovered that you could chop up drums from one drum break, and play them as his own drum kit over another musical groove. In the movie, The Beat Kings, Marley Marl describes his initial epiphany:

“I made a mistake at unique recording studios…sampled a snare by mistake when I was trying to get a vocal sample of the record. I started to play the snare on the beat, and I told the engineer to turn that old weak ass snare down, and now I’m poppin’ a James Brown snare on top of the beat I just made! I’m like you know what this means? I can take any kick, any snare, any hi-hat on any record and make my own kits?!?!”

This brought about sampling how it is today. The procedure is basically the same, with the equipment evolving, though many producers stick with old stand-bys like the Emu SP-1200, Akai MPC series, and Ensoniq ASRs.

Now when hip-hop began to reach mainstream status, the issues of copyright came to light. Before, producers had been making beats from any record, not clearing the samples. Clearing samples refers to the process of obtaining permission from the original copyrights owner to use the sample, and also distributing royalties from and profits made. However there hadn’t been any cases against the producers or rappers for this infringement of copyright, so the trend continued. This would all change with or old friend BIZ MARKIE.

In 1991 the first case was brought against a hip hop song from its original copyright holder. The song “Alone Again” by Biz Markie used a piano loop and three words from the Gilbert O’Sullivan song “Alone Again (Naturally).” O’Sullivan’s publishing company, Grand Upright, brought about a lawsuit against Warner Brothers Records, to whom Biz was signed. Warner Brothers actually had contested the fact that O’Sullivan hadn’t actually transferred copyright to Grand Upright, which really hurt their case, when they should have contested the rights of musicians to sample one another. Anyway, the judge had proclaimed that sampling was thievery and now for a song to be officially used in a profitable sense, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder, and subsequent royalties must be paid. 

Even though the result of the case deemed uncleared sampling illegal, there are ways around this,. Many producers have replayed samples themselves, essentially turning their creation into a “reinterpolation” or better known as a cover song. Like other musical acts that play cover songs, a less significant portion of profits is paid out.

To this day there are “sample police” that search through songs for uncleared samples in order to collect royalties. Usually working for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA,) these agents also go after “piracy” cases, most notably the raid on DJ Drama and the Aphilliates in January of ’07. Again the legal heads said that these mixtapes were illegal, copyright violating material, and so they were arrested on Racketeering charges.

Most influential musicians have a problem with samples and clearing them at some point in their career. While some have the funds to just pay for the rights, other artists have to find unique ways around them. This is the basis for the recent debate on identifying samples, and I will get into that in Part Two.

Just a Thought

Ok so this isn't anything I wrote for anyone, just something to think about...

What's with these so-called "Little Debbies?" They're too damn small if you ask me. Sometimes, when I'm realy hungry, I can down a whole box in a matter of minutes. These are the occasions where I think to myself, "I just need to find this Debbie chick, so I can tell her to make the full-size Debbies, not these little guys." Maybe it's just me, but I'd love that.

OK so this is the earth...

Haha just kidding. If you're reading this you're probably wondering WTF? Well basically I've had 3-4 other failed blogs before, usually it is because I haven't been the greatest at keeping tabs on it. Well not anymore! I'm really going to make an effort this time! Mainly the reason for this is because this blog will be a lot of articles that I've written for other people, or other publications. There'll always be a link to the original listing, but if you can't get enough Nick Cicero, come here! Also I will be setting up some sort of iMeem account where you can listen to my original musical compositions, and other audio files I feel relevant. So comment, email me, whatever, just read them! Thanks.