Alex Piyevsky used to play the corners for dough I am currently stuck in California, enjoying extra vacation time as the snow storm pummels New York and destroys all chances of flying home.  There are worse predicaments to be in, but I do feel a little out of touch.  I’ve spent the past 10 days […]

Alexy Piyevsky feels the breeze in the West Indies Here is the second installment of my Duke Bloggin reggae compilation series. Unlike the first volume, this one had no specific theme or aesthetic inspiration in mind. Instead it’s an eclectic collection of new or newly discovered songs I have recently enjoyed, mixed in with a […]

Alex Piyevsky learned the capital of Thailand in high school Jeff sent me this compilation, thinking it would be up my alley, and he was right – I enjoyed it a lot.  But when I sat down to write something about it, I realized I didn’t have much to say.  I liked the songs, but […]

Alex Piyevsky is independent, fuck your system. This happened in the most organic way possible.  A week ago, I came home after visiting my weed guy (s/o to H.), started sampling the wares, and turned on one of the stoniest rap oddities I know – a chopped & screwed blend of Sade’s “Smooth Operator” and […]

Trust in Alex Piyevsky Adrian Younge’s career is fun to ponder from a nerd’s perspective…. In the next month the man will release albums with both soul legends The Delphonics and rap legend Ghostface Killah. Judging by early previews, the results of both collaborations are stellar. What does this mean? Is this a singular work […]

This is Part 3 of my interview with DaVinci and Al Jieh of San Francisco’s SWTBRDS label. In this segment we talk about the history of Bay Area rap, certain misconceptions about it, and how SWTBRDS fits into the overall legacy of the region. As our ride continues we talk more about the close knit […]

This is Part 2 of my interview with DaVinci and Al Jieh of San Francisco’s SWTBRDS label. In this segment we talk about the history of their label and how its heritage derives from the legendary Fillmore neighborhood where DaVinci grew up. — Alex Piyevsky Previously: Part I of Question in the Form of an […]

Below is my interview with DaVinci and Al Jieh of San Francisco’s quickly rising SWTBRDS label. My original idea was for the guys to take me on a guided tour of the Fillmore, DaVinci’s notorious home neighborhood, cited frequently in his songs as a source of both inspiration and frustration. Instead we ended up driving […]

Alex Piveyski was taking a nap in the backseat of the car pictured above. A few weeks ago, in a post about Haleek Maul, Jeff mentioned how “no one enters the league fully formed anymore.” He referred to young rappers at large and I’m inclined to agree; especially since my homebase at Steadybloggin’ has had […]

We have Alex Piveyski and Jah to thank for this. Download: ZIP: V/A – Duke Bloggin Meets the Congos in Midtown (Left-Click) I have a confession to make: this compilation is actually a failed album review. Icon Give Thank, a collaboration between venerable reggae legends The Congos and mad experimentalists Sun Araw and M. Geddes […]