Jay-Z and Rick Ross - The Devil is A Lie - A song that Potentially tries to Justify Greed and Dis-crimination

Caught up in a racial debacle Jay-z was pressured from his die-hard fan-base to pull out of a racist designer retailer deal. The potential partner Barney's plans on stocking a new range from jigga man that was racial discriminating against black customers in New York.

The officially named "frisked shopping policy" saw people belonging to miniorties frisked after going into the store. Jay-Z said he would still go through with the deal and give all proceeds to his charity the Shaun Carter Foundation.

Thats seems a weak move to make and reeks of greed. But hey even our champs in Hip Hop aint picture perfect and some will put money over people regardless of what charity benefits.




Here is what The Fader pulled out of the song from Jay-Z;

You seen what I did to the stop and frisk
Brooklyn all up in Barneys like we own the bitch
Giving money to the hood now we all win
Got that Barneys floor looking like a V.I.M.
Black hoodie, black skull.

I'm not really convinced about the whole story but hey call me a sceptic!!! 

Premier: David Dallas - The Wire Feat Ruby Frost - Rap Flow is On Point

Here is the new David Dallas video "The Wire" co-starring Ruby Frost. I'm digging the visuals of the video shot by Joel Kafeli (Lorde). I think the flow on this song is a solid effort by the South Auckland Rap upstart. Arguably the kid is reigning supreme in NZ. Not sure about the choice of Ruby Frost's "Wire"vocal  motif, sounds a little bit strained. But, DDot's flow is on point.

The great thing about David Dallas is his perserverance and hard-work. He could potentially hunt down a solid stateside hit. All he needs is a top songwriter to help him kill the hook like Alicia Keys and Jay-Z when they teamed up on "New York" (outsider writers penned the hook). No doubt The Neo-Kalashnikovs could deliver a renewed injection into the creative mix (lyrically, vocally, hooks)   but at the end of the day thats the artists decision.

If I was helping manage David Dallas I would concentrate on dropping singles every 3 months and throwing away the album format. Bigger buzz and happier fans. It would no doubt be easier to fuel his creative model. Wishing him a solid 2014 and Sorry for insulting ya bro (real talk)!!! :), just pissed me off hard when NZ on Air didn't give me a shot and my detractors on the board were allowed to run a personal vendetta when they should be concentrating on funding dope art. And it's still all good.

The Neos

Rock band The Neo-Kalashnikovs Achieve 40,000 Downloads in Auckland

 
If you haven't heard of The Neo-Kalashnikovs by now you really are missing out. Their free debut album"She's On Heat" has had over 4000 downloads amassing over 40,000 individually downloaded songs.The albums cover adorned by a flame engulfing the bands logo was released in November 2012 in New Zealand. The rock album has gained an outstanding review from critics and NZ rock fans. It's not hard to see why either as their songs have huge hooks that are lyrically outstanding and do justice to rock 'n' roll in general. If you like Nirvana, The Black Keys or bands like Queens of the Stone Age you will love this band, a lot.

Whats even more electrifying about the Auckland based rock band is that they are all directly related. Lead singer Volita Bioletti is the oldest who also plays electric guitar. The youngest sibling Gabriel Bioletti plays bass and Keyboards while middle child Moss Bioletti smacks the stuffing out of the drums. Im of the opinion that the trio really do know their way around the rock genre. This should come as no surprise either as they have been gigging regularly since they were in their teens. I guess this is one of the main reasons why album "She's On Heat" breathes the flames of veteran tenacity. Perhaps all those dingy bar gigs in L.A and New York that the band has rumored to play in early 2011 have some truth to them. Hands down my favorite songs off the debut are "Diamonds" that sees a guitar screaming out of a Marshall stack. "I Don't Wanna be Your Friend" which is an uber hipster classic rock song and the truly heartfelt beauty of "Shining Star" that is lyrically elegant. 

After listening to the album over and over again there is no doubt in my mind that Olly Harmer played a vital role in making "She's On Heat" as good as it is. His recording prowess that has seen him produce more hit records than you've had hot dinners in Mt Eden is evident. His most recent contribution that proved pivotal was the recording of "The Naked and Famous" album that achieved Gold status in the U.S. Despite all the technicalities of hit records I am going to stop writing this article and go back to listening to "She's On Heat" because this is Kiwi rock at its best. And there is no need to worry If you haven't been lucky enough to download a copy because its available for free at theneokalashnikovs.com. You can also tweet the band at @neokalashnikovs and like them at facebook.com/theneokalashnikovs if you become super-fans to keep up with all their raucous antics, lets hope they stay out of jail. 

A snap shot of The Neo-Kalashnikovs Favourite Rock Albums

I just wanted to share some of The Neo-Kalashnikovs favorite Rock records of recent times. Many of you know that we are into a whole range of artists from Iggy Pop to The Black Keys and our all time favorite Nirvana. The reason I want to share our influences with you for is because I recently read that

"The album is Dead"

The music critics said this was due to the fact that the internet era had destroyed the album economically. Apparently "the album was the only form that the music industry found to monetize music", really?? t-shirts, live shows, endorsements seem to spring to mind. But whatever the case I don't think albums will be going anywhere anytime soon and if anything they well just get better and better. Lets face it a classic album is much better than a hit record because it lasts longer, a hit single is here one day gone tomorrow a classic album lasts forever in every new generation.

Here they are:
The Black Keys: "Brothers" (Soul drenched Swamp Rock)http://youtu.be/8oIleJxHTN0

This album is so sick and it's not just because it was recorded at Muscle Shoals studio were The Rolling Stones recorded "Goat's Head Soup" & Lynyrd Syynrd recorded "Freebird". It's wicked because of the super groovy drum feels, rocktastic guitar tones and powerful lyrics, the vocals are also distorted to perfection vocals. The ethos of Patrick Carney the bands drummer is right on as well he says if in doubt play the drums as hard as you can!!!.

The Silversun Pickups - Swoon (L.A Rock at its Best)http://youtu.be/C9lEkiKP8LM

I remember when I heard this record I was impressed I listened to it constantly on repeat for quite a while. Seeing the lead singer at a tiny gig in at Echo Park in Cali also springs not mind such good vibes surround this record. They are such a veteran band the lead singer said that if he played to 7 people and made a connection that was the best thing ever. They played around L.A for almost 10 years a lot of people thought they were rubbish.
The album is just pure symbol of perseverance in the face of adversity. The Silversun Pickups name also comes from the local liquor store they youse to frequent a lot!!. Apparently they lived on Miller's Beer for a couple of months lol. My favorite tracks on this record are "The Royal We", "Growing Old is Getting Old" and "Panic Switch".

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Road Worn Battle Rock)http://youtu.be/uElD3acEdsQ

Well this album is an older album but you can't really top it. The album can be best described as a "F&%kin Fighter". Tom Petty's emotion in this album is spellbinding. I'm surprised this album doesn't punch you in the face when you put it on it has so much attitude. I love the drumming on this album because even though the drummer was a maniac and everyone wanted to get rid of him he just had that swag. I reckon if hadn't been on the album this record would have been rubbish. As it were though he made the cut and drummed this record into rock history. You can also really hear that this album was recorded on tape by pros. The musicianship on every song is spectacular. I really can't say enough good stuff about this record.

Nirvana - Nevermind (GRUNGE)http://youtu.be/olLrLsPsSZk

This album is amazing and It really annoys me to hear how Butch Vig was the guy who made this record a rock milestone. Without Kurt Cobian, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic this album wouldn't even exist. One of the most important people outside the band that made this record the utter business was Andy Wallace who fixed up the whole record after Butch Vig did a lame ass job mixing the album. Kurt Cobain apparently went into the studio and told Mr Vig to give up because all he heard was treble. Anyway Wallace delivered the bass and compression in the mixes that made "Nevermind" well "Nevermind". "In The Bloom", "Come As You Are" and "Smell's Like Teen Spirit" are my favourites. This is a sick album if not the sickest album ever!!!.

The Neo-Kalashnikovs New Music video for "Take It Or Leave It" (In a Mustang)

Here is the official music video for "Take It Or Leave It" by The Neo-Kalashnikovs.
Moss Bioletti and Katie Oh directed the video for the band. Owen Harris supplied the American Muscle of the red 66' Mustang and they all took it for a spin down Queen St. It was a wild video this one and it was a very spur of the moment endeavour. Volita the singer of The Neo-Kalashnikovs managed to hire an awesome red light for the video that really brought it everything together. The video was shot on an Iphone 5 and Samsung Galaxy camera. Charlie Bioletti and Alister Spelter manned the lights with Jack over from the United States. The song "Take it Or Leave It" was recorded with award winning recording engineer Olly "Magic" Harmer at the iconic Lab Studios in a day which produced the singles "Turn The Tables" and "Gorgeous Baby"too. The album "Gorgeous Baby" is available as a free instant download here. And you can stream "Take it Or Leave It" below. The Bioletti siblings will be getting to work on their next release "Urban Warfare" very soon all the songs are written and just need to be rehearsed and recorded.

David Dallas' New Music Video: "Don't Want The World" Off His Mixtape Buffalo Man

I'm so glad to see David Dallas dropping his chronic new video

for the killer track "Don't Want The World" off his free mixture

Buffalo Man available here for free:

http://www.daviddallas.co.nz/buffaloman.html

It's also totally awesome to see Dallas blazing in his fur coat 

and Adidas track-suit. I'm really amping for his new album 

that should coming out really soon called "Falling into Place"

last time I heard the noise about his release in the rap game.

I was also well impressed with the grueling U.S tour the 

homie took last year. Good stuff Bro can't wait for the next

video can I shoot it :). Also really glad to say that 

David Dallas tweets back when he gets the chance so

if your a fan get at him.