As reported here in the latest weekly Amoeblog Hip-Hop Rap Up Colorado's Wheelchair Sports Camp (WSC), who got added at the last minute to a one-month national tour supporting the Flobots, got booked into the non-wheelchair accessible Cafe Du Nord - something that appears to be an honest oversight by the promoter/booker and or the club, given the last minute nature of WSC been added to the tour. Regardless the oversight caused somewhat of an uproar among the many wheelchair using fans of WSC who cannot make it into the show featuring krip hop star Kalyn Hefferernan along the percussionist she is touring with this time out.  Since earlier in the week Kalyn had been scrambling to try and find an alternate space (I was among those trying to locate somewhere) to do a wheelchair accessible free show in San Francisco this afternoon. But when nothing had materialized by this morning the ever resourceful Hefferenan announced plans to do an impromptu, free pre-show on the sidewalk outside the Market Street, San Francisco club at 4pm this afternoon. See just made flyer left about the last minute show that proudly proclaims "The More Wheelchairs The Better."

A little earlier today I caught up with Kalyn. "I'm usually good at posting whether or not venues are wheelchair accessible but because it was so many shows [on the heavily booked one month tour] and getting ready for the road was so nuts I haven't had the chance to find that out for every venue. I didn't realize the San Francisco show was inaccessible until a few crips hit me up disappointed they couldn't come," she said stressing that, "As a disabled rapper I can't shit on my people! I know what it's like to be excluded from a venue and it blows. I tried to find a way to do a show in a more venue type setting but it was so last minute we figured just take it to the streets!" This is good news to disabled Bay Area fans who, said Kaylyn, were initially "understandably pissed that I'm playing an inaccessible venue in the first place." She added that, "Because my band is support and was added on after all shows were booked I didn't have a say in where we played. And I'm lucky to be small so I can be carried up and down more easily than most. Eventually I hope I have enough leverage to play only accessible shows. This is a great way to start the conversation on how to deal with unaccessible venues."

1) Talib Kweli Prisoner Of Conscious (Blacksmith)

2) The Uncluded (Aesop Rock + Kimya Dawson) Hokey Fright (Rhymesayers)

3) Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d city (Aftermath)

4) Eve Lip Lock (FTR Music)

5) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis The Heist (Macklemore LLC)

After debuting as new releases on the Amoeba Berkeley Hip-Hop chart last week both the brand new, highly anticipated Talib Kweli album Prisoner Of Conscious on the Brooklyn artist's own Blacksmith label, as well as the new genre bending Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson collaboration Hokey Fright on Rhymesayers Entertainment - recorded under the project name The Uncluded  - are back for a second week in a row in the numbers one and two chart slots respectively.  Also back on this week's chart - and no surprise to see these two unstoppable albums each released back in 2012- are Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' The Heist. My bet is the ever popular respective major label and indie label releases will both be still charting over the next few months too. But what is surprising (to me at least) and worthy of a double take is the new chart entry from Eve. My first reaction was - huh, Eve the rapper from back in the day, Eve the female member of the Ruff Ryders crew fame?  The answer is yes, that Eve. Eve the female rapper who last released an album eleven long hip-hop years ago - 2002’s Eve-Olution on Interscope.

As you know May is National Bike Month and this week (May 13th to May 17th) is Bike To Work Week, with tomorrow (Friday May 17th) being Bike To Work Day - the one day out of the year everyone, not just the avid cyclists, are encouraged to abandon their gas guzzlers but instead take out their bikes and cycle to work. I encourage everyone to do this everyday, especially tomorrow - but if you simply cannot bike to work then I suggest after you get home from work you instead bike over to Amoeba and park you bike outside (as in the Amoeba Hollywood bike rack area pictured above) and go crate digging inside for records and CDs with songs about cycling/biking - including Queen's classic  "Bicycle Race" (with the refrain "I Want To Ride My Bicycle, I want to ride my bike"), "My White Bicycle" by Tomorrow, Kraftwerk's "Tour De France," and TV On The Radio's "Bicycles Are Red Hot." Oh and if you missed it when it was published last month here on the Amoeblog check out the excellent, in-depth psychedelic themed bicycle Amoeblog by Eric Brightwell's excellent, in-depth "Shifter and sugercubes -- Happy Bicycle Day" blog

Shannon and the Clams – “Into a Dream”

Shannon’s sweet snarl leads us through a tunnel-of-love melody and ’50s pop arrangement. The gloriously lo-fi production and Shannon and her Clams’ disorienting harmonies make the whole thing a fun, woozy ride. Dreams in the Rat House is due out May 21 on Hardly Art. Listen or download for free from Amoeba. Check ’em out at Amoeba San Francisco Thursday May 23 at 6 p.m.!

 

 

 

Honeymoon – “Sure Stuck”

Honeymoon is an Australian-born, L.A.-based production duo whose upcoming album is said to be an update of ’60s/’70s psychedelic pop. It sure sounds that way from “Sure Stuck,” the second song they’ve released from the upcoming album. Think a more electronic Tame Impala. Honeymoon’s one to keep an eye on.