HOLLYWOOD AMOEBA MUSIC HIP-HOP TOP FIVE:

1) Nas Untitled (Def Jam)

2) Immortal Technique The 3rd World (Viper)

3) Lil Wayne Tha Carter III (Cash Money/Universal)

4) Suga Free Smell My Finger (HMF/Warner)

5) Jean Gray + 9th Wonder Jeanius (Blacksmith/Warner)

Thanks to Scott Carlson in the hip-hop department at Amoeba Music Hollywood for this week's top selling albums chart, which includes in the number three slot the brand new release from SoCal's Suga Free, Smell My Finger, which dropped earlier this week. 

Lil Wayne's hot selling new album (#3 on Amoeba chart) has caught the attention of Abkco Music who are suing the rapper, his songwriters, and his label (Cash Money - a division of Universal) for "copyright infringement and unfair competition" over a new Lil Wayne album track that appears to heavily borrow from the Rolling Stones song "Play With Fire" which they own rights to. 

SF rapper Z-Man's group One Block Radius (the alt rock trio he is  a part of when not doing solo stuff or with his Gurp City familia) have signed to Def Jam. The Cali based One Block Radius accurately describe their unique, pop-ready sound as "Pharcyde meets Steve Winwood meets Sublime meets Outkast meets Hall and Oates" and drop their major label debut in September.

"I thought there would be maybe a couple of hundred people here and that it would be a pretty good event but, damn, I didn't think there would be this many people here and that it would this great a party. Hell yeah!," exclaimed Dan K -- one of the many attendees at last Friday's East Bay Express party.

The Oakland biker/hip-hop artist (who a few years back had a feature on him in the East Bay Express) was excitedly shouting over the music coming from the main stage at the Oakland Museum of California, where the independent East Bay weekly was hosting its "Old School" themed "Best of the East Bay" free party. Meanwhile, behind him, one of the hella fun night's many performers, longtime Berkeley ska group The Uptones (pictured above), ripped into their appropriately old school hit "Out to Sea."   

"Crazy....in a good way," laughed Amoeba Music's Naomi about the scene. She and fellow Amoebite Rachael were kept extremely busy tending to the long line of music fans who patiently waited for their turn to spin-to-win prizes including CDs, DVDs, and lots of Amoeba swag, including bags, hoodies, and turntable slip mats. (Amoeba was one of the main sponsors of the event.) A little later, headlining act Flipper was scheduled to sign autographs at the Amoeba table.

This second part photo-series (following yesterday's AMOEBLOG) shows the almost-finished art project done by the H.O.M.E.Y. Project (SPIE, Trigger etc.) on 24th Street near Capp in the Mission District of San Francisco. These pictures were taken two days ago, as the painting was being finished up. The mural caused some controversy with the SF Planning Commission, who are funding the art project, over some of its Palestine content. At first glance the art might look the same, but there are a lot of new details filled in on the large and wide mural since the first batch of photos (posted here yesterday) were taken ten days earlier. 

The five pictures below are taken left to right (top to bottom) and almost capture the beauty of the piece, but really, if at all possible, the best thing is to go see it in person on 24th Street just down a bit from  Mission Street.

As mentioned in the AMOEBLOG posted yesterday about the late, great Bay Area graffiti artist DREAM, here are pics from a brand new large scale mural painted by DREAM ol skool partner SPIE and others from the SF based H.O.M.E.Y. Project. Still being finished up, it is in San Francisco's Mission District.   These pics were taken at the beginning of last week, which was exactly mid-way through the five week painting project that began July 14th. Next I will post pics taken yesterday, as the piece is almost completely done. Meantime if you want to go check out this socially and politically charged mural you can find it on 24th Street in the Mission in a parking lot off 24th St in between Capp Street and Lilac Alley. I took all these pics last week on a sunny afternoon as SPIE and several others were out en force. A part of the ten year San Francisco community/art based H.O.M.E.Y. Project, the new mural's artists also included Mike TRIGGER (pictured above), Nancy Pili, and Marina Prez-Wong (pictured painting below three pics down) among others. 

The large, colorful mural is sponsored by the San Francisco's Planning Commission, who bulit a new raised wall for the art. The space, in a parking lot off 24th, is completely fenced in with a big metal prison-like fence. This provided the artists with inspiration for the piece that was partially planned/sketched out and partially improvised. "The fence all around here kind of gave us the basis for the theme here," said SPIE. "We're commenting on a lot of stuff as far as content here. The theme is loosely about fences, walls and prisons in a sense being utilized to solve problems because this (the metal fence) is supposed to be put up to curb gang violence, which is not a healthy solution to a problem -- it's the gating and jailing of a community in a lot of ways. So we are making a comment about that and a comment about relating it not just local issues but worldwide from the Mexican/American border immigration issue that is going on right now. And you've got the Palestine wall right here which is a big issue...Overall it is about solidarity of communities of color and oppressed people -- black and brown unity..."  

Legendary Bay Area graffiti artist Mike DREAM Francisco, who was shot and killed in cold blooded murder in 2000, would have celebrated his 38th birthday today (August 15th, 2007) had he been spared his senseless death on the streets of Oakland seven years ago. Dream was not only an amazingly talented artist and integrated part of the Bay Area hip-hop scene (collaborating with countless hip-hoppers over the years), but he was also one of those really cool-and-always down to earth, caring people who took time out for others. All of which made his passing so much more painful for all who knew him. One of those most affected was his longtime partner from TDK crew, SPIE (who is one of the authors of a forthcoming book on DREAM), who I ran into today in the Mission District as he was finishing up a mural project on 24th Street (b/w Capp and Lilac) and about to head over to a meeting at the SF Planning Commission over funding of the H.O.M.E.Y. Project (more on this with pictures over the next two days here on this AMOEBLOG).

Born in Alameda, CA, DREAM was one of the pioneers of the beginnings of the Bay Area graffiti scene from the early eighties up until the time of his death, both as a solo artist and with his crew TDK. But despite his tragic passing his legacy grows and grows each year. A few months ago the RX Gallery in San Francisco had a tribute exhibit to DREAM organized by fellow TDK graf artist WIllie Maze. Meanwhile, outdoors around the Bay Area there are countless pieces dedicated to the late, great artist, including out under the junction of the 280 and 101 freeways in SF -- coincidentally the place where DREAM, along with SPIE, did one of his very last pieces (see below).