If you are knowledgeable of the Miami hip hop scene, then ArtOfficial needs no introduction. It seems as if you can’t escape there presence in the Miami scene. They can be seen performing in most hip hop bars or lounges on a frequent basis, and have started what seems like a bi-monthly event called State of the Art, where they perform for a well deserved following.

Now they have a video to add to their catalogue. The video was shot for their new single “Big City Bright Lights”. And I love it! Came out real nice and clean. The video even features footage from one of their live performances at PS14.

Fresh Basil fam Stella Hernandez was able to catch the making of the video. Chilling with the band, and snapping away, Stella was able to capture what went on behind the scenes. Click on the picture below to view the pictures from the video shoot.

I’m absolutely lovin’ this video. I’m So Hood/ Brown Paper Bag features Trick, TPain, Ricky Ross, Plies, Young Jeezy and Dre (from Cool n Dre) on the Brown Paper Bag hook.

There’s mad cameos too. Here’s the list I complied, feel free to add any that you may have recognized.

- Pitbull
- Busta Rhymes (looking quite old)
- Crazyhood’s GARCIA!
- Trina
- The white guy from Cocaine Cowboys
- Fat Joe
- DJ Enuff

(lol @ Plies i75 piece)

Sam was wondering why Lily Allen was wearing a damn astronaut suit in the Common video. I guess Sam doesn’t know the deal. Its always a good idea to throw on a space suit, dawg!!!

Here’s one of my favorite clips from the Human Giant show.

Here’s the newest vid from Chi-town’s finest and Brit sensation Lily Allen.

P.S. At what point did it seem like a good idea to put Lily Allen in the astronaut suit? lmao

Its about damn time! I’ve been up on Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings for a couple years now, and its refreshing to see them finally get some love on a national level. I first heard about them a couple of years ago when I was half asleep on my couch watching Conan O’Brien. Then out of nowhere, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings came out and performed “How Long Do I Have To Wait”. It woke me up instantly, and no lie, I’ve been hooked ever since. This band is crazy!

I used to go digging religiously every Saturday morning around the Cutler Ridge area (Quailroost Drive, what up!!!!)… digging up them old funk 45s and classic material. But hearing a modern group making funk music that sounds so authentic and official, was simply stunning.

The Dap-Kings have been getting lots of shine recently because of their work with Mark Ronson. Mark used them as the backing band for his production on his album “Version”, as well as the critically acclaimed album by Amy Winehouse, “Back To Black”. Besides those two big albums, they are working with Ronson on many, many other projects. Now everybody and their momma is after their signature sound. There isn’t anybody else out there right now pumping out funk music like the Dap-Kings.

So with the Dap-Kings getting a bit of national exposure through Mark Ronson and Amy Winhouse, it might Sharon Jones’ best chance at grabbing the spotlight with their new album coming out later this year, 100 Days, 100 Nights. So practice your funky worm and James Brown shuffle. Its going down.

And for the non-believers, check this classic cut they dropped a few years back. Even Kanye is on the nuts. Brand New!!!!!

Kid Sister performing her single “Damn Girl” with hypeman/brother J2K.

I must say, while watching her perform, I was totally unprepared for her chongalicious moves. Straight up Hialeah shit, and she isn’t even Cuban! Was real dope though; you can tell she’s having fun while performing.

Thanks to Fresh Basil fam DJ Anonyms for the video! Check out his show on w305.com.

I’ve been able to catch DJ Klever live a few times, and like I said before, this guy is a beast. No lie. I was trying to get everyone I knew who hasn’t seen him yet to go out to the Kid Sister show, where he fucking killed it! I think he was spinning for an hour and a half, with non-stop heat.

His song selection is so dope to me. Being from the one and only dirty south capital, Atlanta, Klever is up on everything that is crunk. But he also goes off on tangents with hype dancing music ranging from Bmore to electro and indie rock. Klever is a true tastemaker.

So for those that haven’t been able to check him live yet, I uploaded a few of his mixtapes so you can peep game. You definitely won’t get the whole experience of seeing him live, but the mixes are dope nonetheless. And what’s dope about these mixes as that none are identical. This guy is so versatile with his dance music, its mind boggling.

Mixtape #1 is DJ Klever spinning live at some club called Parrish in Austin, TX. This is pretty similar to what he did at Studio A last week.

Mixtape #2 is an exclusive mixtape Klever did for some Trafik Tradeshow. Really different from the first mix, this mix is pretty ridiculous. He opens of with Steed Lord’s “Who U Wit”, which is crazy!!!!!

Mixtape #3 is an exclusive mix he made especially for DiscoBelle.net, which is a dope electronic/dance music blog. Klever put up the tracklist for this mix on the site, for those wondering what the fuck he’s playing.

Don’t sleep. Klever is the truth!

Back again, with TWO more videos, Wrekonize and DJ I-Dee show us what they have been up to in China.

I’m surprised at how quick they been able to edit the videos with everything going on over there. In these two videos they take you to a 6 story mall (females get jealous now), play some drunken Uno, and have a house party where they cooked some chicken feet. Chicken feet!! Damn.. I can smell that shit already. Nasty.

Funniest thing is when Wrekonize eats some damn pigeon eggs, haha!!!!! His Chinese tour guide/friend was trying to explain how its just like like a chicken egg, but from a smaller bird. Wrek asks if its a pigeon, and I don’t think the dude knew what a pigeon was. Its official, you nasty for that one Wrek!

I got to attend a video shoot for the Budos Band this past Sunday. I was pretty hype about it cause I missed one of their shows a few nights earlier in New York because it was sold out. If you don’t know about the Budos Band yet, they’re on the Daptones label, and share some of the same members as the Dap Kings (backing band for Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse). The Budos Band is made up of eleven members from Staten Island (kinda like the funk/afro-beat version of Wu-Tang).

The video shoot was at a small bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn called the Lucky Cat. The flyer for the shoot said they needed 50 people to be in the video. I was disappointed because only about 20 people showed up for the shoot (besides the band and the camera crew). I don’t know what song they were shooting the video for, but they played about a 20 minute set. Backed by a layered rhythm section, most of the band took a backseat for the horns and organ player to shine.

Check out their myspace page or Daptone Records. They just dropped a new album called Budos Band II so act like you know.

Whoa! I had a blast this past Saturday at Studio A. Everyone on the set damn near killed it, and I believe I lost a little bit of hearing. I keep forgetting to buy some damn ear plugs.

The show started a little late, but started with a bang. As I walked in DJ Jessica Who? was spinning. Having that first set always sucks cause the club is still empty, and nobody is dancing. I know the feeling. But she was playing some dope shit. Next person who came on was pretty dope too, and started to get people dancing. But I can’t remember the guy’s name at the moment (my bad!). I was getting my drink on at the time.

But when DJ Klever came on, damnnnnn. He shut the place down. Earlier this year during the Winter Music Conference, Klever did a monster set during DJ Craze’s classic Bass Sessions party, and he did even better this time! I’m gonna try and upload one of his mixtapes so you people can peep game. Hearing a mix without seeing him live won’t do him justice though.

Pase Rock came on after Klever and gave a monster performance as well. I was chilling with the homeboy DJ Anonyms on the side, and we kept shaking our heads at all the bangers this guy was dropping. I think Anonyms almost dropped his drink and busted a move when Pase played the Paul Simon inspired “You Can Call Me Al (BMore Mix)”.

After a bit, the much anticipated Kid Sister came on to do her thing. For having such a small catalog at the moment, I must say Kid Sister puts on a dope show. She definitely held her ground on stage, and had an undeniable swagger about herself which is probably why she got that Mac sponsorship! She had all the females going nuts, and was killing it with the chongalicious moves. No lie. She took it back to middle school with some of her dance moves, but was rocking the crowd nonetheless. Best part was when her set was over and she dropped the mic like a gangster rapper would do. Who would have known.

I headed out a little bit after she was done, so I missed most of Flosstradamus’ set. But peeps tell me they were solid. A great show overall, with a fabulous female to male ratio (i love bass!). Holla!!!!

A few days ago, sir Kanye West was interviewed by Tim Westwood on his BBC Radio 1 show. The typical Kanye bravado and swagger is displayed as he talks about his upcoming album.

Topics range from the upcoming release battle with 50 cent, to Kanye’s dream of performing at stadiums in the future. He goes on to explain why he ran up on stage at the MTV Europe award show when his video for “Touch The Sky” didn’t win the award. He even shared his frustration with the Grammy’s when Gnarls Barkley didn’t win Best Song of the Year with “Crazy”.. Saying he looked and Cee-Lo like: “I’ll go on stage for you“. Haha.

Best part is in part 3, where Kanye goes off on a tirade against people in the press who continuously hate on him. He also lets Tim play 2 snippets from his upcoming album, including the song “Big Brother” which is a dedication to Jay-Z. FIRE!

Some might still see him as too cocky or big headed (pause), but this dude has been on point for years. With the kind of music this guy has been dropping, you really can’t front.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

I been feeling this song since I first heard it a while back. Hot thing got a dope sample, and that 3 second bridge right before each chorus is crazy!! Haha.

Pretty cool video over all. Has that HP commercial thing going on that Jay-Z seems to have started. The video also features a short clip of the other single, “In The Mood”, which is produced by Kanye West. Song is crazy!! That beat is so butta.

Best believe that shit. Rhymefest has been putting in work for years.. Writing tracks for Kanye, killing motherfuckers in battles, dropping crazy verses on guest feature spots, and straight up generating a well deserved buzz.

He’s got a new album coming out later this year titled “El Che”. And from the tracks that have been leaking so far, this album is going to be crazy!! Real rapper talking about real shit, but he doesn’t confine himself in a small box like most garbage ass “conscious” rappers do. He’s got a fresh sense of humor that you can sense through his verses and clever wordplay.

While corny “hip-hop historians” spend countless hours arguing about how hip hop is dead, hating on any and every song coming out that doesn’t sound like 1994 shit, Rhymefest took time to do a track with Lil Jon. Yes, Lil Jon. And the song is CRAZY!!!! If you haven’t heard it yet, stop sleeping. Check out his myspace.

Also, here are two videos giving a behind the scenes look at Rhymefest working on the upcoming album. First video is him working with Lil Jon, on the song “Angry Black Man On An Elevator”. (hip-hop snobs exit here)

And this video is Rhymefest in the studio with a Fresh Basil favorite, Jazzy Jeff.

There is also a new Little Brother track featuring Rhymefest called “Get Plugged”. I’m telling you, watch out for Rhymefest this fall.

Was browsing the “internets” today and came across a song I been sleeping on. Seriously, how did I miss this one?

I’ve known about the Procussions for a minute. They got some pretty dope songs, especially “Miss January” featuring Talib Kweli. Song is so butta. And they perform hype as fuck! Saw them about a year ago when ATCQ performed at Club Revolution. Classic show, but thats a whole other story.

Anyways, I guess I just haven’t been paying attention to them for a while, and missed out on Mr. J Medeiros solo album. He is probably the weirdest one out of the Procussions, which might explain why I looked over him for a bit. But I just checked the album, and it is dope. The beats are nice and crispy and this guy has some ill concepts.

One of the better tracks on the album is “Constance”. It touches on a real touchy issue that I haven’t heard many news organizations talk about, let alone any other rapper. Not a radio friendly song by any means, but Mr. J Medeiros took a chance with this track, and I’m loving it. Enjoy the song/video.

They are now available at MIA Skateshop.

Get them now before they are gone!