We met Rick Ross recently at some random club in San Diego and got the feeling that dude always feels out of place everywhere no matter how hard he rocks that chain with his face on it. After watching this video, it’s hard not to imagine him as some sort of a wallflower; that guy’s just not fitting in anywhere. While Weezy, Jeezy, and Birdman are doing their respective things on this piece, what we like to think of as a throwback or ode to proto-Southern Rap Videos, Ross is just kind of bouncing around phoning in his verse. Must be tough to be seen as hip-hop’s less attractive Donnie Brasco. Whatever. It really doesn’t kill our undying love for Jeezy and expected yet completely unnerving shots of Birdman counting money on top of a rented car.

Posted by John Bollozos at 8:14 AM

I’m not a mathematician by any means but that formula is correct.
Yes, that’s the answer: awesome.

As in the song, “Awesome”.
You know, Gucci Mane’s new track featuring Snoop Dogg?
Produced by Drumma Boy?
Oh…
Yeah,
You better get on that.

Gucci Mane feat. Snoop Dogg – Awesome (prod. Drumma Boy)

Posted by Marissa A. Ross at 12:14 PM

Oakland’s indie outfit Why? didn’t start as that. Why? started as simply the sobriquet of a somber Cincinnati native by the name of Yoni Wolf, rapping off the beaten path about accidental lesbian crushes and chickens (not exactly Too $hort but sometimes dudes bitching about flat booties isn’t really what I’m in the mood for, ya know?).

And just like Why? transformed from a one maned band of lugubriously lush lyrics and carefully calculated noise progressions into the art pop club that released last year’s Alopecia, another Oakland aboriginal, DJ/Producer of Zion I fame, AmpLive, has taken “The Vowels, Pt. 2″ and metamorphosed its music into a brand new jam that I’m sure will keep Why?’s fans satiated as they await the arrival of the band’s fourth release due out this fall, Eskimo Snow…

which may be a bit disappointing for anyone hoping Yoni would be leaning towards his nondescript lyrical spits since he has been quoted saying Eskimo Snow is “the least hip-hop out of anything I’ve ever been involved with”.

I’ll still be into it.
There’s always a day or two I need a break from Born To Mack.

Why? – The Vowels, Pt. 2 (AmpLive Remix)

Posted by Marissa A. Ross at 2:26 PM

Remember when Bad Boy Records tried to spin their skit “The Madd Rapper” into a formidable product? Yeah, neither do we.

But yet there’s a new anonymous shit talker on the streets (or tweets, as it were) who is taking it upon him or herself to call out all of the… ahem, shit DJs out there. We here at Electric City decline to comment on our opinions of DJs put on blast here (unless you spin “Right Round” by Flo Rida).

Some select rants:

* if more than 2% of your set comes from crooklyn clan dot com (sorry @djriznyc) you should quit DJing

* PLEASE LISTEN: I am not on here to “hate.” If i tell you that you suck, don’t waste time arguing, spend time practicing. because you suck.

* I HAVE NEVER SEEN A GIRL THAT CAN DJ. (except for @djturbulence) EVER. IF YOU KNOW ONE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

This Twitter page has a few good laughs on it, but with less than 200 followers, I don’t think anyone is taking this person seriously. I’m sure there’s more than a couple DJs looking over their shoulders before their sets begin, though.

Posted by John Juan at 3:00 PM

When Cassie showed up with her partly shaved head, she did so to perhaps send the message that although she is sleeping with the boss, that she is still an individual, an artiste, a force to be reckoned with. Or maybe she just wanted to be cool. Whatever. Either way, did anyone really think that haircut would take off? I mean, it’s not very flattering. You always have to be mindful of which side people are viewing you from. And then there’s the eventual problem of what to do when you get tired of it, or when it grows out. Your options are limited. So, why, oh why Lala, would you bite this haircut?
Lala added a little spin to it, but it’s undeniable that Cassie was a big influence. Now that D-list “celebrities” are blatantly biting this freakin haircut, who’s to say that this won’t become an epidemic? I already had to deal with Velour track suits (Thanks J.Lo), T-Mobile Sidekicks, and purse dogs, I will literally gouge my eyes out if I see some teeny bopper with this crap. So once Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana posts pics of her with a wet t-shirt rockin’ this damn haircut, I swear I’m gonna’ have to look for a new BFF.

Posted by Electric City at 9:01 PM

So, on the ninth, Los Angeles’ indigenous and obscure MC, Busdriver, released his eighth full length. Ten years after his first LP, the monikered Regan Farquhar has dropped Jhelli Beam, another layered and lavish trip into underground hip-hop, flourishing with fast flows and beefy beats. And of course, his famous grasp on vocabulary. His music is chalk full of cerebral chants that could leave even the wisest wordsmith bewildered. But this album isn’t just for English majors but lovers of music as well (did you catch the way he plays with “Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major”?) and pop culture enthusiasts / shit talkers (hahaha, dude, he calls out everything from American Apparel to Dane Cook to rappers acting like they’re Joaquin Guzman Loera).

I thoroughly enjoyed Jhelli Beam, in all its crafty, comedic and less than commercial glory, even if I had to do the oh-so-careful-rewind on my Ipod to catch half the shit he was spitting.

And all you local Angelinos, Busdriver is playing tonight at Ameoba on Sunset at 7pm.

Posted by Marissa A. Ross at 2:10 PM

It’s been three years since JoJo released her last album, and you may be asking yourself where she’s been — but probably not, since she’s best known for two sugary “TRL” friendly singles and starring in a movie with Robin Williams about a trailer.

Don’t sleep, though: the sexy singer (she’s legal now, I can say that) has been keeping busy in the midst of label drama (Blackground Records is currently in limbo between distributors), deciding to go to Northeastern University in the fall while putting the final touches on her forthcoming album, All I Want is Everything.

Take one listen to some of the covers she’s done while on hiatus (she absolutely murdered the original versions of Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” and T-Pain’s “Can’t Believe It”) and it’s apparent that JoJo has a more diverse taste than one might expect a white girl from the ‘burbs thus far portrayed as a teeny bopper might have.

She most recently tackled Drake’s “Houstatlantavegas”, and while she didn’t shame Drake’s version quite the way she did with the other two, she definitely showed a wise-beyond-her-years lyrical sensibility as well as emotional growth in her vocals (or it could just be puberty). Double props for incorporating Jay-Z’s “I Know”, the video for which might play with JoJo’s take as an alternate soundtrack.

Here’s hoping the all grown up JoJo will get a chance to shine once the technical logistics are figured out.

JoJo “Houstatlantavegas” (Drake cover) – zShare | Mediafire

Posted by John Juan at 3:13 AM

With the recent success of actor-turned-rapper Aubrey “Drake” Graham, there most likely will be an influx of similarly aspiring MCs who are talented in other arenas. Halt for just a moment, though, sir, and let us use history as a cautionary tale against those who think they know what they’re doing with a mic just because they’ve been in front of a camera or live audience before.

Follow the jump for some crossover rappers who should have stayed in their respective lanes and left hip-hop to the professionals.

2 Fail Kazaams (out of 5)

Kobe Bryant (feat. Tyra Banks) – “K.O.B.E.”

3.5 Fail Kazaams (out of 5)

Joaquin Phoenix – “Unknown/I Didn’t Care to Look it Up”

5 Fail Kazaams (out of 5)

Posted by John Juan at 12:25 PM

You may have read a couple posts down about Yoni Wolf.
Well, I have good news for you !
He’s doing a guest DJ spot tonight at Calling All Kids.
Tonight also features the first live performance for CAK with Serengeti.
Resident DJs Sodapop (anticon) and Matthewdavid (dublab) will also be throwing it down.

If you’re new to this jive, Calling All Kids is a jam-packed evening with entertaining and enthusiastic aesthetics- music and visuals as well as free mix cds with purchase of a drink (FYI: it’s only beer). It’s held at probably my favorite bar on the east side, Hyperion Tavern. Classily quirky with its walls of law books and chandelers, Hyperion is a great place to wind down after a long hard week of hustlin’ social media or whatever you spend your forty plus hours a week getting into.

Posted by Marissa A. Ross at 2:23 PM