I’ve been a fan of the Black Keys for a while now. If you’re not familiar with them, they are a young duo from Ohio with a raw blues/rock sound. I suggest picking up their album “Rubber Factory” off Epitaph Records. The Black Keys recently toe-dipped into hip-hop by having Danger Mouse produce their last album “Attack and Release” (Nonesuch Records). Their simplistic song structure, minimalist approach, and round soulful sound, creates a blank wall for MC’s to tag all over.

Blakroc which dropped on Black Friday, 11/28/09, marks the duo’s seventh studio release. Damon Dash of Roc-a-Fella Records produced it with the Black Keys. This album hosts an ensemble of random MCs that defy the typical cliché, run-of-the-mill rock/rap tracks that you might have heard in the past. More notable MCs include Mos Def, Q-tip, Ludacris, RZA, and Pharoahe Monch, whom add credibility to any hip-hop album

The Black Keys

The RZA, the leader and undisputed master mind  of the Wu-Tang Clan and hip-hop culture’s most dynamic genius,  embarks on a mission to show the lessons he’s learned on the journey that’s taken him from the Staten Island projects to international superstar, in his new book, The Tao of Wu. Along the way, RZA has been a dedicated student to the knowledge that he has encountered on the streets, in religion, in martial arts, in chess, and in popular culture. Part chronicle of an extraordinary life and part spiritual and philosophical discourse, The Tao of Wu is a nonfiction spiritual journey for the hip-hop generation that is sure to enlighten, entertain, and inspire.

 The sea of Wu-Tang fans are fully aware to the way of life and their obsession with the groups puzzlelike lyrics and elaborate mythology has propelled the group through fifteen years of dazzling, multiplatform success. In his 2005 bestseller The Wu-Tang Manual, the RZA provided the barest glimpse of how that mythology worked. In The Tao of Wu, he takes us deep inside the complex sense of wisdom and spirituality that has been at the core of his commercial and creative success.

The book is built around major moments in the RZA’s life when he was faced with a dramatic turning point, either bad (when he was facing murder charges) or good (a record deal that could pull his family out of poverty), and the lessons he took from each experience. His points of view are always enlightening and you cant help but to listen and pay attention when the RZA is spitting some wisdom. This book is a spiritual memoir as the world has never seen before, and will never see again.

The book has an official release scheduled for October 15th, 2009.

Damon Dash is officially back in the music business. The Roc-A-Fella co-founder has formed his own, new independent label to release a rap/rock album between The Black Keys and a slew of hip-hop artists, including Mos Def, Jim Jones, Q-Tip, Ludacris and more. Dash said that he never heard of the Black Keys until some of his staff invited him to a concert for one of their birthdays. The show was sold out, so before heading to the concert, Dash started to listen to the Keys, and they soon became his favorite new group.

The album, titled Blak Roc, also features appearances by Raekwon, RZA, Billy Danze of M.O.P., Pharoahe Monch and Ol Dirty Bastard, among others. Set for a release on the day after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday in the world of retail, the disc will be on a new label started by Dash and the Keys.

When asked what made him return to the music business after all these years, Dash said it was all about the love.

The Black Keys are about real music and all these other people that came through are really good at what they do, and it was more for love really. We didnt know what it was gonna be, we just knew that we just liked making music. And thats really what its about at this point. At least after being in the game this long you dont wana just be doing it for money that becomes obvious. If I was to be a part of anything, it would have to be something like this

Whether you know him as Ol Dirty Bastard, Big Baby Jesus, Dirt McGirt, Dirt Dog, Osirus, or The BZA, Russell Jones was a creative personality that will forever live on in the hearts of hip hop fans. Ol’ Dirty Bastard simultaneously brought a measure of humor and a touch of the absurd to the Wu-Tang Clan, which he helped to form with his two cousins, the RZA and the GZA. In late 1992, the trio decided to expand their group and added 6 more members, forming the original Wu Tang Clan. While most of the members received individual praise from critics and fans, Jones became perhaps the best-known member of the group. Armed with a seemingly crazed, slurred, often off-beat, half-sung half-rapped delivery, bizarre lyrics and humorous antics that were unlike anything ever heard before in rap, he seemed to encapsulate and personify the raw, unadulterated and innovative style of the group. ODB died in November of 2004 from an accidental drug overdose, as an autopsy found a lethal mixture of cocaine and prescription drug Tramadol, a synthetic opiate used to treat severe pain. Leading up to his death, Dirty’s legal troubles seemed to be piling up and were making him “something of a folk hero”. Music critic Steve Huey wrote.

it was difficult for observers to tell whether ODB’s wildly erratic behavior was the result of serious drug problems or genuine mental instability … the possibility that his continued antics were at least partly the result of conscious image-making disappeared as time wore on.

Fortunately, for everyone who craves just one more dose of Big Baby Jesus, his cousin, Raison Allah Iceman, has plans to release a slew of tribute albums and a documentary, entitled Dirty. One Word Can Change the World. The film, three years in the making, is set to be released this November and it chronicles the life of ODB and the impact that he had on the people and world around him. The film is set to show ODB’s old hood, interviews from family members, friends, his musical counterparts, and even features the 13 year old girl Dirty saved from a car wreck when she was a toddler. According to Raison Allah Iceman, who serves as producer on all of the albums and the movie:

Years ago I promised to keep Dirty’s legacy alive, so we formed Zu Films and started filming a documentary which tells his life story. When word got out that we were working on a documentary, Wu fam(ily) started sending me so many tracks that we didn’t want to wait until the soundtrack to the DVD to put them out. We decided to put out a tribute album every other month until the documentary, Dirty. One Word Can Change The World, is released in November. Each tribute disc will include a short trailer to promote the upcoming DVD documentary

Enjoy the trailer below as it shows some insane Ol Dirty Bastard moments, and touches on some stories that have never made their way to the main stream. I am particularly excited for the unreleased ODB footage, and can’t wait for the up close and personal look at one of Hip Hops most eccentric, creative, troubled, and misunderstood personalities. Shimmy Shimmy YAAA Shimmy yammm Shimmm YAY!