R.I.P. » Passion of the Weiss

May
14

As the one-time mayor of New York City, Abe Beame would like everyone to take a moment of silence. As a kid, Paul’s Boutique was my favorite record to zone out to. Even more so than the Wu-Tang Multiverse, B.I.G. or Nas and Jay’s debuts, it’s an ALBUM in the classic sense. It remains one… Continue reading »

May
11

Not a Blogger: Adam Yauch Tribute — The Beastie Boys as Activists

Does Doc Zeus not bleed? I admire Adam Yauch. As a diehard hip hop fan and a child of the 1990s, that might seem exceedingly obvious to say. But beyond the superficial of simply “liking” his music, Adam Yauch was an extraordinary human being. Beyond his accomplishments in music and film, his character was of… Continue reading »

May
04

RIP MCA, Adam Yauch, Nathaniel Hornblower (1964-2012)

Other than his untimely death itself, the most shocking thing about Adam Yauch’s passing was that he was 47. In the abstract, we all knew that the Beasties were pushing 50. Shit, all you had to do was look them up on Wikipedia. But no one ever believed it. For our generation, the Beastie Boys… Continue reading »

May
04

The day we lost MCA

Sadly the rumors appear to be true: Beastie Boy Adam Yauch AKA MCA has passed away at the age of 47 after a protracted battle with cancer. As readers of the site might guess, this is absolutely devastating for our motley crew of long standing Hip-Hop heads and we’ll be taking some time to write… Continue reading »

Feb
01

Don Cornelius, R.I.P.

All apologies to the Don Mega and Cartagena, but there was only one Don. The late Cornelius, who put himself to sleep at the age of 75. I spoke with him once for the LA Times in late September of 2010, right around the time the Best of Soul Train was being released. The conversation… Continue reading »

Dec
12

R.I.P. Hubert Sumlin (1931-2011)

On a cold winter morning, before you had your first cup of coffee, Hubert Sumlin’s guitar was permanently hushed in a funeral home in an anonymous town in New Jersey. Mick Jagger and Keef footed the bill because that’s what you do when you have a billion bucks built off the clean yet filthy guitar… Continue reading »

Nov
13

DJ Quik – Heavy Mr. Big Stuff

David Blake dropping the most elegiac tribute to Heavy D yet. The fact that Quik cooked this up in a night or two would be mind blowing if it was anyone but Quik. In his 41st year, his chop game stays soulful and vicious. Between Quik and Ish from Shabazz Palaces, he has shredded all… Continue reading »

Nov
10

R.I.P. Heavy D: 1967-2011

Chris Daly co-wrote the “In Living Color” theme song. The Overweight Lover has left the house. The Jamaican born, money earnin’ Mount Vernon-raised, Dwight Arrington Myers, passed away earlier this week on November 8th, 2011, apparently due to “respiratory distress.” While he may not have been regularly heralded as one of the all-time greats of… Continue reading »

Sep
13

Sach O: RIP DJ Mehdi

Sach O used to bump Princes de La Ville on a near daily basis in high school. Sad news for the world of beatmaking today as Parisian producer DJ Mehdi passes away. While his international audience knew him best as a new school electro producer affiliated with Ed Banger, I’ll always remember him for his… Continue reading »

May
28

Sach O: R.I.P Gil Scott Heron

Sach O shouldn’t be writing before coffee. I suppose if I’m up posting this early on a Saturday, I should say something about the untimely passing of Gil Scott Heron. I’m not a fan of writing obituaries for people I never met so I’ll keep it brief: look past all of the “forefather of Hip-Hop”… Continue reading »