To me Hip Hop is like a Singaporean's Mee Goreng. You can add any flavors or ingredient, and it'll still be Mee Goreng. For the past few months, that's what I've been doing, expanding my views and looking for new flavors and ingredients on Music and Art as a whole, to reinforce my idea of Hip Hop.

Then I caught the Jazz bug. There's something about Jazz music that really got into me.  I started out listening to Thelonious Monk (pretty heavy stuff for starters) then move out to Duke Ellington,Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald then I moved out further to discover Swing, then I discovered the likes of Benny Goodman & Louis Prima. Yes, these are really old music from probably 40s, 50s if I'm not wrong. I find it amazing that for such a music coming from a different century being loved by me. Timeless music, I would call it. Now if a music is as phenomenal such as that, there must be something about it. It's something you must experience. 

So I venture out to look for a more 'modern' Jazz music, I'd like to see what has it evolved to and that's when I come across AllAboutJazz.com .  It's a very comprehensive website about Jazz and there's one section which I think would be a good starting point for anyone to start listening to Jazz, that is the Free Daily Mp3s section . Yes, good songs up for downloads. Please do visit. You'll be amazed by the power of Jazz. 

I started the idea of a Monthly Mixtape quite a while back, but the response wasn't so good. So I'm going to modify it something different. Something far more adaptable for such a new site like this. I very much like how AllAboutJazz.com have this Free Daily Mp3s section so I'm going to use that idea here. Instead of having a Mixtape, perhaps, "Hip Hop Fellowship Free Mp3s" section would be more feasible. That'll be quite fun.  How about it?

Another thing. I find it funny how this site offers the visitors to post your own blog posts , advertsement space & link directory but nobody seems to want to grab the opportunity. I'll be honest, I am targeting the Singaporean and Malaysian users on that bit but something isn't right, nobody is emailing me. Perhaps the content of this site is 'off'. I have no idea, what do you guys think? Particularly in Singapore, there are events going on, new songs being released. Well anyway, I do care about it if you think this site is lacking something, please do drop a comment or email me. If it's because of politics, about 'locking me out of the game', don't bother - I don't care.  

I don't think I will post news from other camps, such as new events, songs, etc, etc unless they email me, post it themselves, or have other users to post it for them. Or unless I'm really feeling that particular news then I'll post it myself. No, it's not about going against anyone. It's about showing love for each other. I'm tired of giving my support and love with people not caring at all.

Comments (2) | Quote this article on your site

Here are the dates for Timbaland, Freestyle Steve, and Shock Value guests on their tour of the Australia & New Zealand:

Sat 12/07/08 08:00 PM Challenge Stadium Mt Claremont, WA
Timbaland Mon 14/07/08 06:30 PM Riverstage Brisbane Brisbane, QLD

Timbaland, featuring Int'l Triple Platinum Shock Value Guest Artists Fri 18/07/08 07:30 PM Vector Arena Auckland, NZ Timbaland Wed 16/07/08 07:30 PM Rod Laver Arena Melbourne, VIC Timbaland & Keri Hilson Sat 19/07/08 08:00 PM Sydney Entertainment Centre DARLING HARBOUR, NSW Timbaland Tickets on sale now at all Ticketmaster locations.

Be first to comment this article | Quote this article on your site

There are times when you just want to record a simple track without going through the hassle of getting expensive softwares or booking a studio. Perhaps you just want to practice recording your track before getting in a actual studio, or maybe you just would like to record your own podcast, promotional message etc. With Audacity, you can do just that and it's licensed under GNU General Public License so it's a free software. 

If you ever experience using Cool Edit Pro 2.0 or Adobe Auditions, you will find that Audacity functions very similarly to these softwares, well just that Audacity doesn't have that cool shiny interface but functionality wise, it's very much the same and perfect for beginner users. You still have that Multi-Track mixing interface, recording capabilities, & digital effects such as normalization, reverb, equalization, noise limiter, etc. It's very comprehensive for the normal users. I strongly recommend inspiring musicians to cop a copy of this. Definitely a better choice than getting cracked versions of Cool Edit Pro or Adobe Audition.

Click here to download Audacity for free

Screenshots after the jump. 

Features:

     * Importing and exporting WAV, AIFF, MP3 (via the LAME encoder, downloaded separately), Ogg Vorbis, all file                    formats supported by libsndfile library
    * Version 1.3.2 also supports Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
    * Recording and playing sounds
    * Editing via Cut, Copy, Paste (with unlimited Undo)
    * Multi-track mixing
    * A large array of digital effects and plug-ins. Additional effects can be written with Nyquist
    * Amplitude envelope editing
    * Noise removal
    * Support for multi-channel modes with sampling rates up to 96 kHz with 24 bits per sample
    * The ability to make precise adjustments to the audio's speed, while maintaining pitch, in order to synchronize it with         video, run for the right length of time, etc.
    * Converting cassette tapes or records into digital tracks by automatically splitting one wav (or the other supported                types) track into multiple tracks based on silences in the track and the export multiple option.
    * Multi-platform: works on Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix-like systems (including GNU/Linux and BSD) amongst others.
        The latest versions support Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista, but Windows 95 and NT are not supported.[1]
    * The ability to change the audio's pitch.

Audacity can also be used for post-processing of all types of audio, including podcasts. It can be used for finishing podcasts by adding effects such as normalization, trimming, and fading in and out.

Screenshots: 

(Click for larger view. Multi-Track view of Audacity) 

(Click for larger view. List of digital effects available in Audacity.) 

Click here to download Audacity for free

Be first to comment this article | Quote this article on your site

Tragic Allies: The Soul Pupose Mixtape

Review By: Hafiz

I've never heard of these guys before and i'm definitely one to keep bumping to fresh stuffs every now and then to stay afresh of what's good and what's not these days. I mean, you can't just keep listening to the same old shit all the time can you?

And since the mixtape has names like Killah Priest and Bronze Nazareth innit, I was ready and pumped to hear what's in store for me in the cd. I can't wait to listen to the rhymes and the beats and any spectacular shit that's gonna blow me off my seat. So let's get started with this shall we? With over 20 tracks in total (24 to be exact), i think the mixtape's a pretty lengthy listen but because the sound were constantly varying in style and tempo, it doesn't really put you off after track number 10 onwards. The emcees are nice with it too. They were all equipped with intelligent rhymes and buttery smooth delivery. Some very nice freestyles were added and i was diggin some of the concepts displayed too.

If you're a fan of the indie hiphop sound then i'm sure you won't find it hard to absorb this. It's got the same grit and grime along with that rawness which alot of us have come to adore these days. And just to name a few of the tracks that i enjoyed bumping to in this mixtape; 'Bloodsport', 'The Night Before Last', 'New Jacks' and 'What The Deal'. I like what i heard in the CD and i think ya'll should go give this a listen too.

If you're asking me for a rating i'll give this a 7 out of 10. Now go catch these guys in action at these sites:

www.myspace.com/tragicallies
www.godsendant.com

Be first to comment this article | Quote this article on your site

(This article is written based on my thought, opinion, perception and findings. It is not personally directed to anyone or anything. You’re not forced to think as how I think. I'm speaking to myself first, before talking to you)

I like the idea of a community. I think a community represents unity and with unity, we can have people coming together to appreciate and help each other. It's a beautiful thing. We have a lot of different communities, such as a Hip Hop Community. Within this community, we have what I'd like to call, 'community providers'. Basically community providers are people who contribute by doing/organizing projects or activities in the name of the community's good will.

These days, more and more people are coming forward to contribute and help in the name of a community. It’s a good thing that people are considering to not only be part of a community but also to provide or contribute as well.

There’s something about these people that are worrying me. First of, I’d like to think of myself as someone similar to a community provider and after experiencing being one for a bit, I come to a conclusion that it’s hard to be one. The purpose of this article is to share my experience and lessons learn.

Be first to comment this article | Quote this article on your site