Coinciding with the ongoing 2011 DMC World DJ Championships happening currently in London, England at the 02 Arena's Indig02 this is the second in a two-part Amoeblog series on the current state of turntablism/skratch music (here's yesterday's Amoeblog). Note that the results for the DMC World DJ Championship battles (which end by midnight Friday, Oct 7th, UK time = 4pm West Coast time) will be published tomorrow in the Hip-Hop Weekly Rap Up Amoeblog. As you know turntablism is a musical form born out of hip-hop by the DJ but not given an actual name until  the mid nineties when DJ Babu coined the term turntablism to describe the DJ as a turntable manipulation artist - one as worthy of respect as any other musical instrumentalist. By that stage I personally had already been a convert for a good decade and a half to this infectious component of hip-hop music. In fact when I first heard hip-hop in its formative days I was drawn more to the DJ than the MC. And ever since I've been hooked on the sound of scratching and spellbound by beat juggling and all the other skilled moves that the DJ as mixer & turntable master so effortlessly throws down. To me this musical style, unique to hip-hop and whose pioneers included Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Grand Wizzard Theodore (creator of the scratch), has always been deserving of its own genre or at least sub-genre.  And as a diehard fan and supporter of DJ scratching from hip-hop's earliest days when I first heard in the late 70's through all the years later up to and beyond including that point when QBert altered the spelling of the word from scratch to skratch, I have thoroughly enjoyed closely following its evolvement; warmly witnessing turntablim/skratch music's creative growth as it blossomed with a seemingly never ending array of new sounds generated by an ever-progressing arsenal of new styles and techniques been added to this vibrant art form. 

             


There is a lot going on right now in Bay Area hip-hop music and what is most impressive is not just the quantity of artists making new music but the diversity of hip-hop music in the Bay Area as we head into what promises to be one a most prolific summer of music. One week ago exactly I wrote about Bay Area female rapper Kreayshawn's meteoric rise to fame within the previous week and a half, thanks in large part to her viral video "Gucci Gucci." Well since then, the buzz-worthy artist who did her first show only three months ago at SXSW, sold out her White Girl Mob show with Lil Debbie & V Nasty at SOM Bar in SF and had Erk da Jerk and Mistah Fab opening for her. More significantly she landed a major deal with SONY: reportedly a one million dollar deal of which she sees a quarter up front.

In the world of turntablism, which many agree is rooted in the Bay Area thanks to such pioneering crews as the Bulletproof Scratch Hamsters and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, this week is a really exciting time in San Francisco. On Wednesday (June 1st) the monthly Bay Area Skratchpad party, which recently extended to LA (after Sacramento and San Jose) jumped off at the Rockit Room on Clement (formerly the Last Day Saloon). In addition to such resident DJs as Deeandroid, Celskiii, DnZ, and Snyak Eyez flexing their stuff on the turns also making beautiful turntable music were Primo, Robynn Battle, MuddBird Waxaholic, and SoundTronix. Additionally Chicken Skratch (the night's expert beat selector) was laying down an incredibly rich variety of grooves from old school to dubstep.

1) Blu & Exile Below The Heavens Re-Issue (Sound In Color)

2) Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol)

3) Tyler the Creator Goblin (XL Recordings)

4) Blu Her Favorite Colo(u)r (Nature Sounds)

5) Neek The Exotic Still On The Hustle (Fatbeats)

Two of the top five on this week's hip-hop chart are from LA emcee / producer Blu and both new chart entries are actually reissues from the artist, who is now signed to Warner Brothers and busy working on his major label debut, due out later this year. The 30 minute remastered Her Favorite Colo(u)r, care of Brooklyn's Nature Sounds, was formerly a free mixtape, and is now being released officially for the first time. The other is a reissue of the long out of print acclaimed collaboration of Blu with Exile, Below The Heavens. This 2007 release was the artist's first full length album and was widely acclaimed by many as one of the best hip-hop albums not just of its year but of the decade. In fact, so in demand was the album that since it went out-of-print, much sought after copies sold on eBay for $100 to $200 a pop. Obviously, the new reissue is considerably cheaper, but be forewarned, it is a limited edition pressing, so get yours now before it's too late.  

1) Lupe Fiasco Lasers (Atlantic) CD

Love him or hate him, Lupe Fiasco’s new one was last week’s best seller by far, selling out the first day we received it and steadily moving units since. Lasers has apparently been disowned by Lupe himself in interviews, which is somewhat of a testament to his testy personality, but he’s clearly tapped into a special realm of the pop music spectrum if he can appeal to Top 40 crowds and seasoned rap listeners alike.

2) Talib Kweli Gutter Rainbows (3D/Javotti Media) CD

Back in stock! I wrote up a bit on this one the other week, but it was out of stock for a sec and now that it’s back on the shelves it’s moving quick. Talib Kweli’s latest is his first independently released solo project in a minute, boasting production from the likes of Oh No, Marco Polo, S1, and Khrysis amongst others. Gutter Rainbows is one crafted for Talib’s long-time fans for sure.

3) Blu Amnesia (Nature Sounds) 10”

New limited 10” single from everybody’s favorite new school West Coast MC, Blu. Taken from his upcoming full length HerFavoriteColour, which was released as a download a while back but is now newly remastered and available to the DJs on wax. The title track and two additional songs on this 10” highlight not only Blu’s natural flow, but also his interesting lo-fi soulful production. Limited and smooth as hell.