Boricua Pride! 2008 Puerto Rican Day Parade In NY

Its that time again! Come out and celebrate the culture of Puerto Rico this Sunday, June 8. Crowds in excess of two million are expected to line Fifth Avenue. The parade will start at 11 am at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street and proceed uptown along Fifth Avenue to 86th Street. The festivities will be jumping off all weekend long throughout New York City, home to the largest population of Puerto Ricans outside of the island of Puerto Rico. We're celebrating also and if you need a soundtrack to get your party on- check out our BORICUA PRIDE episode of THE ZRO HOUR. Its one of our craziest, most energetic shows. Alexie F. spazzes out while we get our drink on and vibe out to some of the boriquen pioneers of hip hop...

THE ZRO HOUR: ROOTS OF HIP HOP-BORICUA PRIDE

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PLAYLIST

PUERTO RICO-Frankie Cutlass
100%-Big Pun
LEATHERFACE-Big Pun (remixed by PopularB & AC)
MUSIKA-KRS One & Marley Marl feat. Magic Juan
PUERTO RICO ALLSTARS-Tony Touch feat. Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen, Mexicano, Rey Pirin & Don Chezina
WE FLY HIGH (REGGAETON REMIX)-Jim Jones feat. Tego Calderon & Don Omar
PLANE TO PR-Daddy Yankee feat. will.i.am
BROOKLYN-Joell Ortiz
WE RUN NY-Tony Touch feat. Tru Life, Lumidee & Joell Ortiz
ROCKIN' IT-Fearless Four
WOPBOBALUBOP (REMIX)-Funkdoobiest feat. B-Real
HIP HOP-Joell Ortiz
AL NATURAL-Tego Calderon
WHAT'S THAT (QUE ESO?)-TonyTouch feat Mos Def & De La Soul
TRIBUTE TO BIG PUN & HECTOR LAVOE-Cuban Link & Willie Colon (produced by PopularB & AC)
COME BABY COME-K7
REP MY PEOPLE-Tony Touch feat. N.O.R.E. & AC (produced by PopularB & AC)

***APOLOGIES to the posting of the earlier pic- I had the wrong flag (cuban) draped cutie posted-

NEW SINGLES: Tame One, NES, Little Vic, Peedi Crakk

Amalgam Digital is set to release Tame One’s “Da Ol Jersey Bastard” and will hit stores on July 29, 2008. The album will be entirely produced by Drum and Knowledge of Parallel Thought, and will feature just two guest rappers, Sean Price and Del The Funky Homosapien. In the 90’s, Tame One was one half of the critically acclaimed underground hip hop duo, The Artifacts along with collaborator El Da Sensai. Over the years Tame has become an eccentric, rapping less about graffiti and more about the mind expansion qualities of drugs. Check out the first single "CATCH ME" featuring Del The Funky Homosapien-

CATCH ME-Tame One feat. Del The Funky Homosapien



Amalgam Digital is on fire once again with the recent signing of Peedi Crakk! Peedi Crakk joins a roster made up of both commercially successful artists and underground hip hop icons, including Grammy-nominee Joe Budden, Kurious, Tash (of Tha Alkaholiks), and the Juggaknots. His highly anticipated debut album “Camel Face Hunting Season,” will be released in September 2008. We have an exclusive freestyle here direct from Amalgam Digital-

DEY KNOW-Peedi Crakk



NES, an artist that we premiered on this site a couple of months ago, has dropped a remix to his heater "CARIBBEAN GANGSTER". This remix features Terror Squad's Tony Sunshine, Johny Law (pictured above left), Erick Right & Dynasy The Dance Hall Prince. Check it here-

CARIBBEAN GANGSTER-NES feat. Tony Sunshine, Johny Law, Erick Right & Dynasty

Also check out these new tracks from Little Vic (produced by DJ Premier) and a preview off the SHYNE REGARDLESS mixtape featuring Kid Novice, Corey Gunz, Infamillz & Sha Boogey-

THE EXORCIST-Little Vic (produced by DJ Premier)

TRIANGLE OFFENSE-Infamillz, Kid Novice, Corey Gunz & Sha Boogey

Rhymefest Opens Up About Fatherhood

Thank you and props to DAVEY D for presenting this intimate, insightful and compelling Q&A between Rhymefest and his 10 year old son. We celebrate Father's Day this month and although many issues are present within father/son relationships, there are many great benefits of what strong fatherhood can provide both parent and child. Alexie F. is a great father. My Dad is a great father. I am not yet a father but these issues are dear to me.

Two days ago, June 2nd, Rhymefest appeared at a townhall/book release event in Brooklyn for "BE A FATHER". "BE A FATHER" was written by April Silver Lauren Harris of the Ford Foundation and featured contributions from Hip Hop scholars, activists and artists. These essays and poems deal with fatherhood and manhood within the African American community. Rhymefest, a contributor, was on hand to kick a freestyle about fatherhood but instead did a Q&A freestyle with his son. They each prepared 5 questions and neither knew in advance what they would be. The profound exchange between father and son, so publicly, impacted all those in attendance. When I listened to the audio below, I am not ashamed to say it bought tears to my eyes. Whether you are a father or a son, their conversation will cause you to reflect on similar emotions that you may have held...

Original article HERE


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VIDEO: CORNBREADD & HOTSTYLZ- Looking Ass Nigga

F*#@ political correctness- this is some funny sh!t. Thanks to MC LYTE for hippin' me to this video. Youtube never ceases to amaze me. Some of you may have seen these videos and I am a bit late checking for these but it is classic hip hop humor. "Looking Ass Nigga" was originally dropped last year by HOTSTYLZ from Chicago, Illinois. This year, CORNBREADD threw his hand in the mix with a response video/song. Both are hilarious...check 'em below-

CORNBREADD- Looking Ass Nigga


HOTSTYLZ- Looking Ass Nigga (Original Version)

Jean Grae & 9th Wonder JEANIUS Promo Pics

I am loving these promotional pics depicting classic hip hop album covers. They are spot on and reflect the love and appreciation for some of the most influential artists in the culture. Pictured from above: Jean and 9th's take on Raekwon's ONLY BUILT FOR CUBAN LINKS, Black Sheep's A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, Public Enemy's IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS and Das EFX's DEAD SERIOUS. Thanks to BLACKSMITH MUSIC for the pics.

VIDEO: JEAN GRAE- Love Thirst

Jean Grae "Love Thirst" Official Music Video

We dropped this on the Valentine's Day show "Hip Hop Love" and now here is the first video from the highly anticipated album Jeanius starring Jean Grae & 9th Wonder. If you thought the song was sexy..Damn Jean!

THE ZRO HOUR- The Return Of POINT DOT PERIOD

I know its been a while but we are back with a great show featuring some knockin' joints and the return of some of our most requested guests- ZEPS, MIKE SWIFT & J-HON. from POINT DOT PERIOD. This time they rolled through with DAMA NILZ, the female emcee in the crew. The crew laced us with ill freestyles, verses and high energy as usual. I was supposed to up this show last week but got caught up in outside biz so apologies to all...






The music on the show this week is fire as well. I set it off with a classic from RAMPAGE of Flipmode Squad and follow through with joints from DANGER ZONE (emcee Bru Lei & producer Amos Famous), BASH BROS., DA KREEK, PACIFIC DIVISION, KRS One, BLACK MOON and TALIB KWELI. Cop this now!

THE ZRO HOUR- The Return Of Point Dot Period

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PLAYLIST

BEWARE OF THE RAMPSACK-Rampage
WRITER'S BLOCK-Danger Zone
ROCK THE SPOT-Bash Bros. feat. Big Pooh, Sean Price & DJ Icewater
NASTY-Pacific Division
REAL RECOGNIZE REAL-Talib Kweli feat. Styles P
BUCK EM DOWN-Black Moon
LEAVE ME ALONE-Da Kreek feat. Aarophat
THE RETURN OF POINT DOT PERIOD feat. Mike Swift, J-Hon, Zeps & Dama Nilz
THE PROMO '08-Zeps
OVER 30 (RMX)-KRS One
VIDEO GAMES-Danger Zone
YOU-Zeps

VIDEO: Hood Certified Presents BEKAY

Hood Certified dropped a video featuring our boy BEKAY in the grimiest light. We get a view inside the crib of this flawless Brooklyn emcee. This aint no MTV Cribs jumpoff. Its the realness amplified by the fact that black or white, we are all caught up in the struggle to survive. Much respect to Bekay- give this man a deal!



Above is a video from his page on WOOZYFLY.COM featuring Bekay spitting "Deadly Potency" (off of his Horror Flick LP) in studio. Shout out to DJ Dutchmaster on the 1s and 2s..

MIXTAPES: Kid Novice- NOVEMBER ICE & SHYNE REGARDLESS

Our peeps KID NOVICE dropped two hot mixtapes this month. NOVEMBER ICE is a 25 track release featuring Postaboy, L.E.Z., Heat, Juno and Elus. SHYNE REGARDLESS: Only Came Too Eat Vol. 1 comes straight out of the DipSet camp. The 25 track release was created by DJ Moe Sticky and features Kid Novice on 3 tracks. Other artists include 5 Starr, Major Problemz, Canz, Priceless and Intense. Check out Kid Novice's blog for the track lists and where to cop 'em.

Slick Rick Granted Full Pardon By NY Governor David Paterson

After many years of fighting possible deportation by U.S. immigration, pioneering rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters has been granted a pardon by NY's first black governor, David Paterson. Slick Rick served 5 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder following a highly publicized incident in 1991 involving his cousin and another man. He completed his sentence and probation while continuing to rehabilitate his life and returning to performing. In 2002, he was arrested on an old immigration and naturalization warrant from 1997. He remained in jail for 17 more months as many inside and outside the industry (Rev. Jesse Jackson, Will Smith, Russell Simmons and Chris Rock to name a few) spoke on his behalf. After paying his dues to society, Rick was in danger of returning to his country of origin, England. Due to his work with children and positive lifestyle over the last 10 years, Governor Paterson granted Rick the pardon. This was his first pardon since taking office after the resignation of disgraced former governor Eliot Spitzer. I think its great that the very first pardon was someone who truly deserved it and who holds a legacy like Slick Rick. You can read more of the article from the AP HERE

ZEPS & Mavric Present WILLIAMSBURGER w/CHEESE

If you are in Brooklyn tomorrow night, check out our peeps Zeps, Point Dot Period and Bekay at the Galapagos Art Space. They will be performing along with Wee Bee Foolish, Poo Face & Rutherford, Tha Freak Show and Lex & Tae One of N.Y.R.E. and others. Don't miss that true hip hop!

VIDEO: Buckshot & 9th Wonder feat. Talib Kweli- HOLD IT DOWN

VIDEO: Invincible's Album Release Party @ Southpaw

Earlier in the month, I rolled thru INVINCIBLE's album release party for her project titled "ShapeShifters". It was hosted by Eternia and Queen Herawin. The ladies ran the house that night and it was a great show all around. The Anomolies (Invincible's original crew) represented thoroughly and we were treated to all elements of hip hop featuring the female side of the equation. Props to all..

ANOMOLIES @ Invincible's Album Release Party


ETERNIA w/CHESNEY SNOW & QUEEN HERAWIN @ Invincible's Album Release Party


INVINCIBLE @ Release Party for "SHAPESHIFTERS"

MUSIC TECH: Nintendo DS Scratching Video Game

The culture of handheld gaming is at an all time high and many have designed and created "homebrew" games across multiple platforms. "Homebrew" games are created by fans and independents who use developer kits and other software hacks. The video above demonstrates one of the illest applications available- Protein DScratch. With this game, you can manipulate waveforms and create stutter (note repeat) effects and virtual scratching using just your fingers and the control buttons. Thanks to TUAW for the heads up to the original article posted on createdigitalmusic.com. Check out the developer's site HERE

Remy Ma Sentenced to 8 Years

From Tracey Ford at theboombox.com:

Remy Ma was sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting her longtime friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph in the stomach for allegedly lifting $3,000 from her purse. The 26-year-old rapper was found guilty of first-degree assault, criminal weapons charges and attempted coercion on March 27.
READ MORE HERE