Jamoeblog Top Ten 10:21:08

1. Mike Relm "Everytime (feat. Del the funky Homosapien & Adrian Hartley)" (Deep Fried)

2. Mulatto Patriot "Showtime (feat. Prosper Jones & Mena)" (MP)

3. People Under The Stairs "Letter 2 c/o The Bronx" (Gold Dust Media)

4. CYNE "Just Say No" (Hometapes)

5. Jake-One "I'm Coming (feat. Black Milk & Nottz)"  (Rhymesayers)




6. Madlib the Beat Konducta "Disco Dance" (Rapster/BBE)

7. C-Rayz Walz & Kosha Dillz "Holiday" (Modular Moods)

8. Kaboose "Two Sides" (Syntax)

9. Cre-8 "Hootie & the Bloated Blowfish" (Potency)

10. Fort Knox Five "Sao Funky (pts. I & II featuring Javier Miranda)"  (Fort Knox)

Mike Relm's hit-bound single "Everytime" appears in three different (emcee) versions on the SF DJ's brand new debut album Spectacle (out today, Oct 21st, and avail in Amoeba Music). The track features female vocalist Adrian Hartley (who he worked with on the Blue Man project) on each of the three versions. The best version ("Everytime") is with Oakland emcee Del the Funky Homosapien, while the other two (almost but not quite as good) versions feature the emcees Mr Lif ("You Break") and ADeeM ("My Heart"). The rest of this new album is really good too, with some nice electro tracks, cameos from Quannum's Lateef and GIft of Gab, plus a bunch of TV montage skits sprinkled throughout, which makes sense since Mike Relm's specialty is doing live video mixes culled from hours of TV and movies.

Sadness struck both Amoeba and the local Bay Area hip-hop community this week with the tragic passing of the much-loved Anthony Marin (aka Big Ant) who, at the young age of 37, died of heart failure last weekend. 

A DJ/producer and multi-instrumentalist, not to mention an incredibly knowledgeable musicologist, Big Ant had been a fixture on the local hip-hop scene for many years -- ever since he moved north from LA in the nineties. Before working at Amoeba SF he had worked at Tower Records in the South Bay and Cue's in Daly City.

If you were into the local DJ or hip-hop scene you would have seen Big Ant over the years at countless events. A large framed man with a warm hug and a winning smile, plus an unbridled knowledge of all types of music (far beyond hip-hop), he had DJ'ed all over, played damn near every instrument it seemed (including guitar/drums/keyboards in Black Fiction - the experimental rock band he was a member of along with fellow Amoebites Jason Chavez and Tim Cohen), and was a ham at Karaoke.  This evening, Friday June 6th, from 5PM to 9PM, those who knew this great man will gather in his honor at Milk, which is directly across the street from Amoeba on Haight St.

For more in depth tributes to Big Ant, visit 4AM/Jason Chavez's MySpace or the text/photo dedication to him on the homepage of the Amoeba website, where Jason Chavez, his best friend, wrote so poignantly: "The best lesson he taught me is the lesson that every loved one that passes teaches us, that we are all still alive and we need to live, love and find our purpose and passions for ourselves and our passed loved ones who are watching us and guiding us towards our destinies. Everyone stay up, he'd want us to."   R.I.P. BIG ANT.

AMOEBA MUSIC SAN FRANCISCO HIP-HOP TOP FIVE (6.6.08)

1) J-Live Then What Happened? (BBE)
2) TOPR The Marathon of Shame (Gurp City)
3) Giant Panda Electric Laser (Tres Records)
4) Subtle Exiting Arm (Lex)
5) The Cool Kids The Bake Sale (Chocolate Industries/A&M)

As usual, there's lots of great indie hip-hop jumping off round the Bay Area this weekend, starting later today (May 30th) at Amoeba Music San Francisco where longtime local hip-hop artist TOPR, in celebration of his latest (fifth) solo album The Marathon of Shame, will be performing for free at 6PM.

Joining the Gurp City member onstage at the Haight Street store will DJ Quest, who incidentally celebrated his own new album (Questolous) release on the same stage not too long ago.

For some more background information on TOPR, who appeared on the Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. V with a song whose lyrics mentioned Amoeba Music, read his bio on the Amoeba Music website and/or scroll down a bit to the Amoeblog interview recently conducted with the hip-hop artist who is known for his homeless couch-surfing past, his gift  for graffiti art (see a piece he did with Lews of LORDS crew below), and of course his love for booze and partying.

Meanwhile some other Bay Area hip-hop shows happening this weekend include a great DJ throwdown tonight featuring two of the Bay's best turntablists, the world famous DJ Apollo (Triple Threat DJs etc.) vs. Goldenchyld of San Jose's Finger Bangerz fame at Vessel, 85 Camptan Place (near Union Sq., SF). Tomorrow night the ever busy DJ Apollo will join forces with his fellow Triple Threat DJs, Shortkut and Vin Roc and throw down a mix of hip-hop, breaks, and reggae at Berkeley's Shattuck Downlow, where tonight (Friday, May 30th) the reggae legend Eek-A-Mouse will be performing.