Wu rules everything around me, or so it seems of late since the legendary Wu-Tang Clan appear to be everywhere these days between their own popular recently released album, Legendary Weapons which dropped a month ago on eOne Music; the WU's distinctive presence on the ongoing Rock The Bells tour where they host the 36 Chambers stage; the proliferation of Wu-Tang mashup projects such as the recently Amoeblogged-about Wugazi: 13 Chambers project; plus the seemingly endless amount of cameos on other artist's projects that the ubiquitous Wu Tang members have been making of late. Indeed, there seems to be no end of the amount of guest spots that the numerous members of this influential Staten Island (aka Shaolin) NY crew (who redefined hip-hop with their landmark 1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)) have been making lately. Even though their latest album is noticeably missing GZA, not to mention Masta Killa, it still became a fave with both critics and fans.


Anything Wu Tang do seems to command widespread attention. Case in point was when, a few weeks ago, within hours of their NYC offices posting an ad for an unpaid intern position, the ad went viral and got picked up and repeated by endless online, print, and TV outlets. Meanwhile, the popular official Wu Tang Facebook fan page has close to one and half million avid followers and appears to be increasing at a steady pace, undoubtedly spurred on by the Wu members' inclusion on this year's Rock The Bells. On the tour, numerous Wu soldiers perform, including Raekwon and Ghostface doing Only Built For Cuban Linx and GZA/Genius performing Liquid Swords. Indicative of their draw, the festival includes the WU's own 36 Chambers stage on which crew members and Wu Tang-endorsed acts like Mobb Deep perform.  At this past Saturday's Rock The Bells stop in the Bay Area at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, Rae and Ghost's set was one of the festival highlights and proved why these vets can still command such a dedicated following two decades later.

Celebrate the eco-active spirit of California that John Muir helped to establish in our great state with O Zone, September 30th, when the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) will come alive with an evening of food, cocktails, music, performances, and eco-friendly activities that will inspire you to take action to save the environment. Learn how making small changes can have big consequences on conserving our natural world and discover ways to empower the adventurer/explorer/eco-pioneer in you. 

Don't miss the Mustache and Beard Contest! OMCA is in search of the "Best John Muir Beard in the Bay!" Amoeba will be on hand with all sorts of giveaways and a Beard & Mustache Photobooth!

ALSO: get down to the beats of DJ Platurn who's spinning crucial tunes before headliner The Coup performs! Catch Whiskerman in an Oak Street Plaza acoustic set! Get in the gallery for an acoustic set with Conspiracy of Beards!  

   

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1) The Cool Kids When Fish Ride Bicycles (Green Label Sound, C.A.K.E. Recordings) 

2) The Throne (Jay-Z & Kanye West)
     Watch The Throne (Def Jam) 

3)  Wu-Tang Legendary Weapons (Entertainment One Music)

4) Sole & the Skyrider Band Hello Cruel World (Fake Four)

5) Hassaan Mackey & Apollo Brown
     Daily Bread (Mello Music Group)

Thanks to the ever knowledgeable E-Lit at the Berkeley Amoeba Music store for taking time to talk with the Amoeblog for this week's Hip Hop Top Five chart and also for running down (in video above) some of the cool new releases and recent arrivals in the Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley store. I love both that BDP Criminal Minded USB stick, gun key-chain, and DOOM's PIL-packaging inspired, silver can, vinyl box set! One of the new local releases mentioned by E-Lit is the new solo joint, Ilyich on Solidarity Records, from San Francisco artist Equipto who is known for such things as his membership of longtime SF hip-hop crew Bored Stiff and his collaborations with Andre Nickatina. In support of this new album he did an instore performance at Amoeba San Francisco last week, August 11th. Click to see photos of the Equipto Amoeba instore.

1)  Beastie Boys
          Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
(Capitol Records)

Claiming the #1 spot for God-knows-how-many-weeks and counting is the new Beastie Boys' album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two which continues to rope in old fans and new fans alike with its lo-fi old school aesthetic and prominent guest features.  About as popular as new rap records get, and pretty dang good to boot!


2)    Vakill Armor of God (Molemen Inc.)

Resurfacing after a 6 year absence from the game is one of Chicago’s finest MCs Vakill, who ropes in Jake One and his long-time affiliates the Molemen for his grand return.  Vakill is known for penning vicious punchlines so intricate that it takes the average listener more than three rewinds to figure them out, but  Armor of God finds Vakill mellowing out on the battle raps a bit and focusing more on stories of the street and hardships in the Chicago rap scene.  It’s the sound of a veteran who knows the streets of Chicago like the palm of his hand sitting back and examining the beauty and the tragedy of it all.  Strong album.

       

If the response to the trash-talking, dank smoking, young white, Bay Area female rapper Kreayshawn's hotly buzzed, self-directed & edited music video above for her latest catchy track "Gucci Gucci," which has racked up over 1.1 million views since it was uploaded on YouTube eleven days ago, is anything to go by then the video maker turned rapper's White Girl Mob show tonight (with Lil Debbie & V Nasty) at the modest sized SF  SOM Bar on 16th Street will certainly be a sold-out affair.

But for all the accolades that Kreayshawn, who counts Diplo, Das Racist, and Soulja Boy as among her biggest fans, has accumulated during her relatively short rise to fame, the diminutive but far from meek white female artist has also been attracting a lot of hate. An awful lot of hate in fact. "LOL ignorant ass hood rat bitch turned ignorant hipster hood rat bitch. What is hip-hop nowadays?" wrote one non-fan in response to one of her online video interviews, while another wrote, in response to the "Gucci Gucci" video, "Jesus Christ this is atrocious."

As for the haters out there, Kreayshawn appears to be taking it all in her stride; even with a seemingly mischievous sense of delight. It's almost like she knows how to press peoples' buttons (especially older hip-hop heads) and gets a real kick out of it. She is to staid rigid hip-hop ("the four elements man" school of thought) what the Sex Pistols were to established 70's rock. In one interview she rightfully ranks herself in the don't-give-a-fuck new school of rap alongside such other young buzz-worthy acts of this digital age as Odd Future (who she's "homies with") and Lil B (who she's produced videos for). But with each interview she gives and with each music video she unveils Kreayshawn manages to simultaneously win new fans and alienate many hip-hop heads.