If you’ve been a TECB reader for any span of time, then you should know these three dudes — Swann Notty x j.DePina x Chachi Carvlho — are favorites of mine. That said, it’s no surprise I’m ecstatic to hear news of the brothers from The Bucket gathering for a full-length album under the name of Thr33 Piece Suit.

Those of you looking for more Brand New Vintage, keep The Echo Chamber Blog in your daily routine. I’ll be supporting this at every chance.

“Business is picking up in a big way for this gifted and charismatic tandem, as Strange Famous Records has jumped onboard as the exclusive distributor for the duo’s debut EP, The Mechanics.” -Chris Conti

“People can slave over multi-syllabic rhyme schemes and concepts all they want, but if they can’t deliver the words with charisma then it’s all for naught.” -Sage Francis

“Read the rest of the article from this past week’s Providence Phoenix. It’s good.” -Me

We’ve been steady bloggin’ for a few years now. We’ve trimmed the fat, updated the site here and there, but overall Chris and I are pretty happy with the what TECB has become. It’s humbling to see people visit our site everyday and read our daily diatribes on Twitter and Facebook.  People even stopped by on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That’s hip-hop for you, there are no holidays. Enough waxing poetic, one of my prouder moments as a pretend blogger was when Virginia-based beat maker, Black-Tokyo, dropped me a line and said he wanted to create an EP inspired by, and exclusively for, TECB. After a few frantic “I-told-you-so” themed calls to old college professors, high school teachers, ex-girlfriends, and people who blocked me on Facebook, I of course obliged. So as a thank you to our reader base, the artists we’ve worked with, friends, family,and fellow bloggers (yes, even the shitty ones, I’m looking at you HipHopDx) we’re proud to release The Echo Chamber EP for free download.

Take the time to download and listen. We really appreciate everyone who stops by to read or comment or troll, truly. And with the amount of work we put in, it’s nice to have our name on some music. Please download, share, re-post, re-tweet, re-listen and then listen again. And of course, a special shout out and thank you to Black-Tokyo. Peep his past work on TECB here, and his whole catalog on his Bandcamp page, here. It’s quite extensive.

Hello and welcome to The Echo Chamber Blog.

Before I get into anything, I want to thank my good friend Smitty for the graphic you see above. I’ll be making that exact work into 4″ x 4″ stickers within the next few weeks. Please let me know if you’re interested in getting some so I can gauge how many I’ll need to buy.  (I’m also looking into t-shirts being made!)

Now concentrate, and learn the alphabet with me…

Aside from the people who thought I made a living off of TECB, a few albums I couldn’t find space for, and my sister Kiley graduating college, I have written about nearly everything of significance in 2011 in my post below.  We’ve experienced a lot of positive moments in 2011, and, if all goes well, this should get us started off on the right foot for 2012. I went about my year-end post a bit differently this time around because I wanted to try something new and a little offbeat. Let me know how you all feel about it.

“A” is for “ALEXIS”:

The Hill.  Federal Reserve Notes.  Polo.  Those are examples of what comes to mind when speaking on Pistol Pone, long-standing member of Fedd Hill, the Rhode Island-based group whose music has been pounding the streets of the smallest state for a decade-plus.  Although, after Pone’s busy year of video making, there will be yet another association to his name that will never be forgotten. In September, Pone dropped some visuals for “Alexis,” a song paying homage to the nine-year-old Alexis Marie Silva who lost her life twelve-months prior in an automobile accident.

“Alexis” is as much of a beautiful remembrance as it is a devastating reminder, and Alipone’s balancing of both the bitter and the sweet in his narrative brings results staggering enough to knock the hardest of hard-knocks out of their element.  I feel as if this was a pinnacle moment for Pone, in respect to his career as a recording artist as well as his evolving perspective on the fragility of day-to-day life.  ”Things like this will make you change what you believe,” he states.  So will this video.

“B” is for BLACK, BROWN, and BLUE:

BLACK: 

Brian Burton, better known to the listening public as Danger Mouse, might be too good of a producer.  His tunes are lacquered with enough polish that the excess could make the wood-paneled minivan pictured on the cover of El Camino, the latest from The Black Keys, look like next year’s model.  Yet it certainly isn’t a detriment to his music-making, as his deft hand has helped The Keys in creating their most accessible album to date.   Although the record lacks the degree of rawness heard on past Auerbach & Carney-produced efforts, El Camino is still Russell Jones-approved, and its haziness is capable of keeping any college-ass disco dorm shimmying into the early morning hours.

What I love most about The Black Keys is how level their albums are.  It’s rare that one track outshines another – all of them hold ground on the same plane, managing to consistently stay above the bar and fit perfectly within their grungy groove. Essentially, each song from the Akron, Ohio duo is a standout and at eleven cuts deep, El Camino is no exception.

BROWN:

This dude Danny Brown is an interesting character.  He’s off-topic, offensive, and off of his rocker, but somehow I’m still drawn to the awkward rhyme style of the snaggletoothed spit-slinger.  Two of this year’s best videos (one and two) came of Brown’s early ’11 release, XXX, which was followed by Black and Brown!, an exceptional collaborative EP with fellow Detroit native Black Milk, in the final quarter.

On “Wake Up,” his first appearance on the joint EP, Brown states how he’s “trying to make in a city where 90% fail,”  a statistic that I’d guess isn’t too far from the truth, as the Detroit community is home to soaring rates of poverty, crime, and unemployment.  That said, it’s great to see artists like these two traveling off of the over-beaten hip-hop path — Black does so by continuously expanding his sound as a producer, and Brown by kicking some of the most explicit, erratic, and entertaining lyrics to ever penetrate eardrums.  If Danny’s warming-up of the Motor City in 2011 is any sign of things to come from the drug-and-pussy-fueled rapper, other artists better buckle-the-hell-up or straight clear the lanes. Because homeboy is making some dangerously fast moves.

BLUE: 

It comes as no surprise how this year’s most ambitious effort from a hip-hop veteran was via Rhymesayers Entertainment.  Not only does the indie authority know how to build a well-rounded roster of unique and appealing talent, they’re also aware of how to maintain a winning record by releasing gem after gem.  Blueprint, one of the label’s most elite players, released the superb Adventures in Counter-Culture in early April of this year.  On the album, Print takes a slight departure from his boom-bap background, allowing synths and singing to play a large role in the project that flirts so heavily with different genres there may be a musical-mutt birthed sometime in January.

My best crack at classifying the sound would be a forward-thinking, hip-hop homage to 80′s new wave, but that’s a hell of a mouthful and merely my own interpretation. On “Go Hard or Go Home (Printnificence)” Print kicks a few lines to best describe the action taken on his most prestigious project to date: “Not the hot new trend that you think is fresh. I don’t care which path is the friendliest; Imma take the one that got no trace of human steps.” While Blueprint has surely expanded his audience by traveling a new and interesting avenue, he does so by bravely and successfully incorporating an “unfamiliar twist” into a genre that many people aren’t comfortable with the tampering of. The exact reason Adventures in Counter-Culture is such a standout.

“C” is for CHILI PEPPERS:

For the second weekend of September, I brought I’m With You, the latest Rick Rubin-produced Red Hot Chili Peppers record, for my trek to the fine town of North Conway, New Hampshire.  The Frusciante-less album is pretty great and I spun it quite a few times throughout my trip, but, ironically enough, the California rock outfit aren’t the chili peppers I’m here to write about.

On my second day in town I partook in a hot wing challenge.  Ten wings in five minutes.  No drinks, no napkins, and a waiver to be signed, relieving the restaurant from all responsibility in what may come of the consumer after the wings were eaten: including death.  As a seasoned heat freak I signed my life away, and about ten-minutes later a man wearing a gas mask brought me a basket of wings, caked in thick ghost pepper paste.  I decided to move forward with the challenge and made it through four wings before realizing the time constraints weren’t going to allow me to go much further.

My stomach started to ache within a few minutes after I had stopped eating.  The pain continued to accelerate until I eventually found myself sitting on a fallen tree, violently vomiting Pepto-Bismol and fiery chicken-chunks onto, what I later realized was, part of someones front yard.  Once I arrived back at where we were staying, I puked-up what was left in my stomach and roughed it through what seemed like an eternity of the worst pain I had literally ever experienced.

It took over four hours for me to become remotely functional.  I recovered surprisingly well over the next day-or-two, but come Monday morning my stomach was begging yet again.  Thankfully I was referred to a great gastrointestinal doctor who helped ease my mind from the horror I thought had awaited in my future.  After a CT scan, a couple of prescriptions, and a diagnosis (all in all, I fucked up my colon) from a doctor who quickly gained my trust and eased my worries, I’ve felt much better. Months later, my stomach is still a bit sensitive, but at least I’m no longer in agony.

Shout out to Rango.

“D” is for DIRTY DURDIE:

When speaking on local grounds, the duo of Dirty Ice and Durdie Furbie, collectively know as Dirty Durdie, were my best discovery in 2011. We became acquainted at the Now or Never record release party in April, and since then have gone on to build a relationship that I’m particularly fond of — I like their music and gladly write about it, while they enjoy my site and help in passing the word.

Ice and Gremm (Furbie) not only make music fly enough to have heads bouncing like a set of double-d titties, the two emcees are also amongst, if not standing above, the most active members of the RI hip-hop community.  Rock sets, perform at open mics, support fellow artists; these cats do it all, and do so with a pound-the-pavement, grassroots approach I wish more artists would adopt.  It’s a pleasure to have the Dirty Durdie presence around town, as their amalgamation of artistic creativity paired with their appreciation of and enthusiasm for hip-hop go unmatched by nearly anyone.

“E” is for EYEDEA:

On New Year’s Eve, WordPress sent me a report on our year of blogging. The most notable statistic was how Verbal and I were able to publish more posts in 2011 alone than we had in the previous two-and-a-half-years of TECB’s internet existence.  Top posts were listed and our most popular was one I had made in September about the canvas and prints of Rachel Sell that were made to help raise money for the dedication ceremony being held for Eyedea and the one-year anniversary of the talented musician’s passing. I’m proud of the post doing well and hope my plug of Sell’s fine artwork was able to earn an extra dollar-or-two for the event that toasted the fallen artist.

“F” is for FACEBOOK:

In March I joined FaceBook, caving in only after realizing the world’s top networking website would be beneficial to the readership of The Echo Chamber Blog.  There are quite a few artists that still contact me personally when they have new material (the preferred method), but in many instances FaceBook has taken my accessibility to music from local artists to the next level. Posts are more frequent and material has diversified, allowing me to gain a stronger and more steady following through my promotion of posts as well as correspondence between artists and all of my TECB peoples.

Needless to say, it was a good decision on my part. With any luck Google+ won’t soon take over the world and I can continue rely on FaceBook as a resourceful media outlet. Until that happens, join my brother-in-blogging and I on FaceBook and Twitter, and don’t forget to “Like” our website’s fan page. Our Miles Davis-level-of-coolness relies on you, folks, because pissing your pants just ain’t what it used to be.  Word to Veronica Vaughn.

“G” is for GRANDPA:

The two biggest male role models in my life both passed in March — my father in ’02 and my grandfather Frederick V. Whiteside just this year. For the last nine-years, March has been a bitter bitch of a month for me, although I’m trying my hardest this year — the tenth and first anniversary, respectively — to honor and celebrate their lives rather than perpetually dwell and mourn over their deaths. Easier said than done, but that’s my goal for 2012. Fortunately, they were both great people, making them easy to celebrate. Let me tell you a little bit about Freddy.

Fred was husband of sixty-nine-years to Millie LaTour, a hard-nosed yet loving, compassionate, and supportive woman who owned and ran her own hairdressing business for over three decades.  Together they had four children; his only daughter, and loyal TECB-reader, being my mother. (Hi, mom.) He was a family man through-and-through, and for such a straight-laced, church-going, and mild-mannered man, his sense of humor was nearly unmatched by anyone I’ve ever met. Fred’s jolliness and sharp wit made it easy for him to keep his peers smiling.  It’s something that came to him naturally, and it was always a pleasure to witness his genuineness.  My grandfather was also a sports fanatic. In my little league days, he would count my pitches for the games when I held-down the mound — not because he wanted to offer me any post-game critique, but simply because of his love for the game, which faded only with his vision over the last few years.

One other thing I’ll always remember about Freddy is how much he helped keep my spirits up after I graduated college. It was a tough time for me. I couldn’t find a job anywhere doing anything, and my personal life was in shambles for reasons he wasn’t even fully aware of. Grandpa would tell me how proud he was of me; that I’ve grown into a fine person, especially considering what I had been through with my father’s suicide. He told me how he prayed for me: to keep my head up; to preserve my well-being; to soon catch a break in the job market. And now here I am: persevering; doing alright for myself, mentally and physically; working a full-time grind. I can’t thank him enough for keeping me in his prayers and being there for me when I needed him most.

So if you’re cool with me, and you’re down with TECB, be grateful of this man right here. He played a large role in shaping me into the person I am today. Respect that.

“H” is for HANK:

Dirty Hank. The motherfucking microphone-molester. He’s one of the only artists in the world I can’t write about without flossing a foul-mouth, but I suppose that’s to be expected when you’re focusing on an emcee whose primary themes are blacking-out and bagging skanks.  Don’t let his subject matter deter you, though.  Hank’s lyrical chops, ignorant and offensive as they may be, are still strong enough to break an already broken hymen. 2011 saw the release of his Does This Look Normal? mixtape, an appearance from Dirty Ebenezer Scrooge, and the reintroduction of Hank’s interest in pornography.

In June, D.H. was my first official interview for The Echo Chamber Blog. The interview was successful hits-wise, and it helped in teaching me how little blogging platforms (in my case, WordPress) care about censorship. If talk of a hit-and-run and possible manslaughter, Craigslist solicitation, and links to PornHub weren’t enough to red-flag our site for spreading filthy and/or illegal content, I can only imagine what else Hank and I can get away with when it’s time for a follow-up.  Lastly, I’m proud to say that people finding TECB by searching “Molly Shannon fucked someone to death” is a daily happening.  Thanks, Hen-rock. This goes out to you.

“I” is for IN DUST REAL EVOLUTION:

Weighing in at only nine tracks, In Dust Real Evolution, the most recent offering from Chachi Carvalho, is still massive enough to tough it through a toe-to-toe bout with any competitor.  In the corner across the way staring down the Pawtucket resident is a juiced-up foe named heartbreak — an opponent hard to face no matter how rigorous and painstaking the training.  Big Chach, however, was able to connect with enough lyrical haymakers to stun his competition, allowing him to persevere beyond a mere twelve rounds, and hopefully champion in the long run of life.

The brief yet powerful collection of concept-driven songs, each concluding with a journal excerpt penned during his father’s final days of battling pancreatic cancer, is easily the most matured recordings to hail from the Carvalho catalog.  j.DePina and Vertygo support their long-time friend and collaborator with the help of their ever-fresh production, but witnessing Chachi’s artistic growth and hearing his choice of themes paired with the well-spoken, poetic journal entries are truly what make this album a triumph.

“J” is for JUAN DEUCE:

Sure, the “J” is silent, yet in 2011 Juan Deuce has been anything and everything but that, starting the year off with a successful mixtape, Shits and Giggles, and closing-out the calendar with an even more successful project with Falside, The Mechanics EP.  In between said efforts, Juan made one of the year’s most talked about videos, caught some serious wreck from indie rap legend and fellow Rhode Islander Sage Francis, and even generated a little buzz on MTV Hive.

Clearly Juan has established himself on record over the past twelve-months, and his live performance is something else not to be taken lightly. The charismatic and energetic emcee can control the mic and rock a crowd like not many other hip-hop artists are capable of doing. It’s an unfortunately rare attribute of live hip-hop performers, but Juan possesses the skill and gumption to keep an audience beyond pleased.  He’s certainly someone to watch out for in the year to come.

“K is for KAIMBR & KEV BROWN:

If you were wondering if I was going to declare an artist and/or album of the year, here’s it is: Kaimbr & Kev Brown’s The Alexander Green Project via Redefinition Records (one of my favorite independent hip-hop imprints and home to beat wizard Damu the Fudgemunk).  Without question, this is my favorite release of the year, and I have the homie DJ Mekalek to thank for putting me on to such a monster of a project, and, perhaps more importantly, this lion of a lyricist who goes by the name of Kaimbr.

Many have sampled The Reverend Al Green before, but only a select few have been as successful as Kev Brown, who constructs raw hip-hop productions as equally as pay homage to the legendary soul singer on each of the project’s fourteen tracks. Beat-making aside, Kev also hangs with Kaimbr on the microphone for a few of the album’s standout cuts.  While Kaimbr’s rhymes and Kev’s classically chopped-up samples are the highlights, the D.C.-based Low Budget family, a crew whose name bears absolutely no meaning to their recording’s exceedingly dope end-results, comes through for ten-plus visits, helping to make The Alexander Green Project hotter than bubbling grits thrown onto bare skin.

On “Hook,” the shining Peter Pan x Lost Boys x battle for enlightenment-themed track, Kaim states “we control the waves of the ocean.”  No doubt — TECB hopes to do the same for Rhode Island in the year ahead.

“L” is for “LEGENDARY WEAPONS”:

Do you see the above picture? That’s DJ Mekalek, former WRIU disc jock and long-standing member of Time Machine.  He’s spinning something called vinyl, an almost obsolete medium of music that’s rarely seen, heard, or even manufactured anymore thanks to advancements in technology and the billions of music listeners who no longer value the beauty of a tangible listening experience. The picture was taken at Mek’s November 8th performance at The Bridge where he displayed the turntable trickery and beat-making magic he’s known best for.

The Rhode Island wax master added a new bullet-point or three to his hip-hop resume in 2011 — the most glaring of which would be the chorus he put together for the title track on Legendary Weapons, the Wu-Tang compilation from this past summer.  More recently, Mekalek was able to throw some cuts on the well-received Andrew Unknown-produced Raekwon Dope on the Table EP.  Both are great accomplishments, being that cuts, scratches, and vocal samples aren’t regularly heard (at all) in this respect on the music of Wu-Tang Clan. (*BONG*)

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for future Time Machine material as well as some new, promising solo work Mek describes as a Killer Tape x Live and Learn hybrid of sorts, with a sound aiming to recreate the days of boom-bap, an era that nostalgic hip-hop nerds like myself continue to cherish.

“M” is for MARRIAGE:

August 27:

After dating for a longer duration than most modern-day marriages last, two of my closest friends — Zach & Ariel — finally took the plunge.  The ceremony was held at Bittersweet Farm in Westport, Massachusetts, and although that skank-bag Irene had already begun to flaunt her shit, that part of the day went off without a hitch.  Dinner was a breakfast buffet, an idea I thought was just about the best in wedding history.  Ironically enough, I only ate about one scrambled egg and a half-slice of bacon before I gave up food for the evening and decided to roll with straight Beamers for as long as I could hang.  Apparently my handle on pounding bourbon shots wasn’t as tight as I thought, because not too far beyond the kick-off time of the after-party at the Bluefin Grille (at The Marriott in Downtown), my drinking privileges were axed.  Booze-talk aside, it was a great day, and I’m happy for and proud of the now Mr. & Mrs. Taylor.

September 17:

When my father passed, it was, and very much still is, difficult to accept his loss.  Almost as difficult was wrapping my head around the idea of Mary, my mother, linking-up with someone new, but once it happened and the initial awkwardness wore thin, I don’t believe she could have made a better decision than Slick Rick. She’s happy; My family loves him; And 99% of all yard-work no longer includes me.  After six-or-so years and a threat from Mary’s mother Millie, MC Ricky D popped the question and laced my mom’s ring-finger with some truck jewelz. My sister Kiley and I couldn’t be happier for the both of them.  It was the best wedding I’ve ever attended that I can remember.

“N” is for NEED NOT WORRY:

Need Not, an emcee with impeccable grasp on the art of story-telling, is another local favorite of mine.  He’s the Richard Walters of Rhode Island making spaced-out rap ballads.  Although a single (“Ride”) and a Sterby-rocked album sampler were all to be heard from Need Not Worry over the last year, the promise of his hopefully sooner-than-later return on record built-up enough excitement to land him a spot in my year-end post.  ”Dreams,” the SoulChef-crafted track currently featured on the producer’s Here & Now via Blue Bottle Records, will also be included on the upcoming Star Stranded LP.

Listen:

Once the album drops, I will surely be one of the first to let you know about it.  Stay tuned in to TECB, but in the meantime visit my post about Kitchen Dip, a great new website I was put on to earlier in the year and home to a couple of Need Not Worry tracks I had never heard before. Enjoy.

“O” is for ONE-HANDED:

In my opinion, there’s only one album to give The Alexander Green Project a run for its money as the best of 2011; Rapping With Paul White, the latest and greatest from across-the-pond producer Paul White, courtesy of independent UK label One-Handed Music. Rapping recruitment for the album includes a handful of the beat maestro’s favorite emcees — Guilty Simpson, Marv One, Moe Pope, Tranqill and Danny Brown, among a few others — each of which offering stellar vocal contributions in yet another of White’s multi-layered instrumental experimentations.

Over the past few years White has crafted a unique style of his own, continuing to push its boundaries with each second spent making music.  His out-of-the-box approach is something I’m fanatical about, as the different sounds and genres blended with pure hip-hop aesthetics are rarely mixed with such perfection. Another great attribute to Paul’s music is how OHM front-man Alex Chase delivers news of it with his smart, humorous email newsletters. They’re truly a great label who hasn’t allowed the digital brigade to cause a demise of their pressing of physical product. Much respect.

“P” is for PROVIDENCE:

In April I relocated to Providence, the capital city of Rhode Island.  My East Side apartment has been dubbed “The Echo Chamber” by a few of my friends, a title that brings a smile to my face each time it’s heard.  Although phone and digital correspondence are still my main connections to local artists, living five-minutes away from every live music venue in the city has allowed me to have more personal interaction with people on the scene, as well as provide a handsomely big-nosed face to associate with the RI division of The Echo Chamber Blog. (Yeah, I blog. What up, skinz?) Quite a few people now know me just by way of the support I’ve shown to the overflow of talent throughout the smallest state, and I’ve actually formed a few new friendships in doing so. Peace to all of you. And peace to Providence. I love it here.

“Q” is for QWEL:

Visible Light — the newest offering from Typical Cats member and Galapagos4 artist Qwel — may mark the first time I’ve ever purchased digital music voluntarily. If you’ve read TECB at all before, it’s probable you’ve witnessed a rant about how I only like to buy CD’s and vinyl, and loathe the purchasing of digital tunes. It’s a collectors thing, mostly, but I also like to hit the stores and be able to have accessibility to liner notes, artwork, et al. That said, this specific collection of freestyles, poems, and spoken word pieces has never been available in a physical format.

However, I don’t let anything from the Windy City native blow by me without grabbing it, so I made the purchase, equipped with various sketches from Qwel’s notepad, and I’m very happy with the project.  There aren’t any direct links to score Visible Light, but contacting Carole (s.carole [at] gmail [dot] com) will get a link sent directly to you along with PayPal instructions. A must have for any Qwel fan — much like every other piece of his work.

“R” is for “RI REDS”:

Horror movie junkie and local noise maker Meta P released Edison’s Ink, his second and most triumphant all-8th-produced project, right in time for Halloween.  The album caught much love (three separate mentions, I believe) from RI-based music journalist Chris Conti of The Providence Phoenix, and  ”RI Reds,” the album’s killer single, has been a staple of many WRIU shows since October. We let the song hit our pages with the one-two-three punch before finally bringing it to you a fourth time as a highlight of the year.

T of P.O.W. Camp sets the rhyme off followed by the host of the party, Meta P, with Milez Grimez serving-up the third verse, the godfather Swann Notty batting clean-up, and 8th closing out what is likely the most major joint of forces I’ve ever witnessed on a local level. The song couldn’t be much better.

“S” is for STANLEY:

I grew up a Bruins fan and toughed it though some of the worst seasons, so watching the 2010-2011 squadron be crowned champions after their poetic, anxiety-inducing postseason victory was the best sports-related feeling I’ve ever experienced. (Yes, over the NBA, Super Bowl, and World Series Championships.)  When the Black-and-Gold were parading the Stanley Cup around Boston, Andy Brickley, former B’s left winger and current NESN analyst, was asked about his favorite moment of the celebration, stating that it was when the Bruins’ captain Zdeno Chara first raised The Cup — because “it’s never been held so high.”  Brick might not even know how much of a gem he dropped, but just thinking of the line almost brings water to my eyes.

A big thank you goes out to my EL brother D.R. for scoring me the Providence Journal printing plates to the front page and the sports section from the morning after the B’s took The Cup.

“T” is for TAD FRESH & TRONNY T:

Unless you’re twice the nerd I am, not a single one of you will have the slightest idea as to who these guys are.  Truth is, I know Willie Evans Jr. and Paten Locke from their Asamov days, but when they refer to themselves as Tad Fresh and Tronny T, the two members of Dumbtron, even I have trouble remembering who in the holy hell is who.  In any regard, that doesn’t really matter.  (Willie is Tad, Paten is Tronny.) What matters is the show-stopping, party-starting video you see above.

The song, titled “Stay Classy,” is tighter than my post-holiday spending budget, and the live aspect of Paten keeping it locked on the wheels and Willie getting busy on the video mixer is quite possibly the best thing I’ve seen in twenty-years as a hip-hop fan.  If I had the opportunity to witness Dumbtron perform a set like this, afterwards I’d need to take my pants to the pants store to fix the optical illusion my pleats were causing.

“U” is for UNDERGROUND SOUND:

On my sister’s birthday I was able to make my debut radio appearance on DJ Primitive’s Monday-evening show Underground Sound.  I may or may not have mentioned this before, but getting on 90.3 WRIU to speak about TECB was a goal I set for myself back when I decided to start covering Rhode Island hip-hop in mid-2010, so accomplishing that was one of my defining moments of 2011. Without WRIU my knowledge and judgement of hip-hop music probably wouldn’t be what it is today, and my embrace of locally grown artists would definitely not be as prevalent. Essentially, The Echo Chamber Blog wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for URI’s commercial-free radio station, and my gratefulness to all of the DJ’s over the past ten-to-fifteen years is unmeasurable.

A big shout out to Primitive, FourOhOne, and Sense One for the weekly mentions of The Echo Chamber Blog and always holding us down on the airwaves. Also, peace to Prim for letting me get back in the studio again on the day after Christmas to help me promote this post:

You can download the show from our server, or from MediaFire if that’s what floats your boat.  The fine gentlemen of Underground Sound also welcomed me back to the station again for today’s show, so expect to see that available in the near future.

“V” is for VILLAIN:

“Rarely has intelligence and ignorance co-existed so gracefully on a page,” writes Kevin Beacham, much-respected Midwest DJ and former face of Scribble Jam, in his review of Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure, the debut book from hip-hop artist and aficionado J-Zone.  There is no better description to offer. Ridiculous lines like ”creative copyright infringement makes my dick hard,” among others of the same context, still mesh together with telling reflections of his family, struggles in the music business, and legitimate gripes with societal nonsense. Zone is a master of conveying humor on the page — possibly more so than he ever was on record, which is saying a lot for a guy whose music career was hilariously excellent.  I’ve never read a book so good. And I was an English Major in college.

“W” is for “WUNDAHGROUND”:

If 8th is known as the king of Wundahground, Milez Grimez is the rowdy resident who wreaks havoc over all of the land’s instrumentals.  As of late the two have been gaining some well-deserved attention, both respectively and collectively.  In February, 8th went up against famed Dipset producer Araab Muzik in an MPC battle, ending with neck-and-neck results at the finish line with Araab barely clinching what many still say was a controversial victory.  Milez earned a clear victory in RA the Rugged Man’s “Most Murderous Lyricist Competition” at the end of the summer, which landed him a feature with Rugged Man over a beat from C-Lance, the producer who worked with Jedi Mind Tricks on their latest offering.

While a cut with long-time Rhode Isle-emcee Romen Rok and a number of tracks to feature frequent Wundahground collaborator Swann Notty are seeing their finishing touches, 8th and Milez appearances on “RI Reds” and the more recent FourOhOne-produced Dirty Durdie track ”I Told You So” have proven enough to keep their names pushing the thermostat.  Also, their video for “What Used 2 Be,” a single off the long-awaited 8th & Milez Grimez LP When Sleeping Giants Awake, is yet another song so scorching, it’s in need of extinguishing.

“X” is for XEROX:

Take a look at your favorite hip-hop website.  Verbal and I could do what they do — copy-and-paste email press releases, regurgitate the particulars — but we’re over here doing things differently.  Some people are offended by how we go about our business, but those are the same Gerber babies who prefer to be associated with the carbon-copy, cookie-cutting music powerhouses that offer no opinion or personality. These junk-juggling tastemakers of today promote nearly every scrap of rubbish tossed into their inbox.  Their lists are lame and forgettable. And they get away with amateur moves like offering downloadable songs through spam-ridden file sharing stink-holes on a daily basis.

If those are the type of sites you enjoy, please…

Get off my plane.

Or you could start the new year off fresh by subscribing to The Echo Chamber Blog, the Air Force One of the internet, and help spread the word of two music-loving fake journalists. #Creek

“Y” is for “YOU DON’T OWN THE ROAD”:

At first, placing “You Don’t Own the Road” on here was my last stitch effort to give Blood Pressures, the fourth and possibly (possibly) best full-length LP from The Kills, a well-deserved mention in my year-end post, but now I’m viewing it as a buffer to somewhat neutralize the trash I just talked throughout “X” and the ego-tripping I’m planning for “Z.”

I’m fully aware that my site may not be the best or even the most preferred on the web for many reasons.  I’m no blog revolutionary, but I do like to think we’re paving our own path and traveling quite fruitfully.

Alison Mosshart. Tweet

“Z” is for ZERO:

Zero. That’s how many websites have matched us on a local level.  And you can eat shit if you think otherwise.  Shout out to all of our readers and much love to all of my Rhode Island people.  Be sure to bookmark the site because we already have some fine plans for the upcoming year, including “I’m Not Verbal Spacey” t-shirts and the potential for other merchandise.

Now you know your ABC’s.

Fin.  I applaud you for making it all the way through and thank you for your time, especially if you were brave enough to read every last word.  A lot of my time and energy went into making this post and I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit to The Echo Chamber Blog.  My name is Chris.  Any and all feedback is welcome in the comment section.  I can also be reached via email, FaceBook, and Twitter.

Regards.

Last year I was able to catch one of the best hip-hop shows I’ve ever been to when I scoped out the 4th annual “How The Grouch Stole Christmas Tour” in San Diego. That line-up included opening acts named Los Rakas (who did their set entirely in Spanish, yet the predominately English-speaking crowd never lost interest), Brother Ali, Eligh, special appearance by Lucky of Living Legends, and of course The Grouch. It was my first chance to see everyone on the bill, but seeing Brother Ali live had been a goal of mine ever since I first caught wind of his music. He truly didn’t disappoint and I still joke with my girlfriend to this day that I got to touch Brother Ali. (He was in the crowd talking to fans as I was on my way to the bathroom; had to squeeze by him and some concert goers and I put my hand on his back to brace myself against the throngs of people.)

All-in-all, that was, and still is, the best hip-hop show I’ve seen. I ended up seeing Zion I and The Grouch a few months later based on how dope of a show The Grouch had orchestrated prior, and again I was far from disappointed. Fast forward to this “holiday” time, and The Grouch has the 5th annual “How The Grouch Stole Christmas Tour” in full swing. I had planned on hitting up the Santa Ana, California show but that day I had to pick-up my lady friend at LAX, and I doubt she’d want to see a concert after a week with her family back in Rhode Island and coming off a long flight. Their next show was the following night in San Diego, my old hood, and I figured what better way to fight my unemployed depression than shooting down the I-5 one-hundred miles and scoping out some raps.

This leg of the relatively short tour featured San Diego’s Blame One, which really sealed the deal for me. When I first moved to San Diego a few years ago I had just missed Blame do a show just a few blocks from my house and then I never had another opportunity to catch one of his local shows. It figures I’d get to catch him once I move away from the 619 but I’m really grateful I finally got a chance to check him out live. After Blame One opened, next up was Evidence, and then this time around The Grouch employed the last two projects he’s worked on to come together as one. Zion I (Zumbi and Amp Live) and Eligh all came out with The Grouch and they alternated between each others work to perform. Amp Live and Eligh have an album out together now, Therapy At 3, which, as crazy as it sounds, I’ve avoided all the singles and video from because I’m looking forward to hearing it all for the first time at once, when I cop the album.

See employed, un, for further reasons why I still haven’t grabbed it.

The venue (Porter’s Pub, UCSD) had many downfalls, but overall the show was pretty dope. I have to say, if you’re in the remaining cities here on the West Coast that these guys are about to visit, you’d be crazy to miss it. Evidence was live and moved the crowd more than anyone who is 33% of a trio can do alone. Blame One, who like I said opened up the night, was fresh and started off his set with his verses from “Disturbed,” which houses one of my favorite Sean Price verses ever, and then went into “Bomb Drop” and “Glass House” among others. Then the quad-fecta of Amp Live, Zumbi, Eligh, and The Grouch came on and did their thing. Zumbi has some of the highest energy I’ve ever seen live and it’s infectious as both The Grouch and Eligh play off of it. Amp Live had his own solo set which he ALWAYS kills with an MPC-guitar that he shreds.

As a fan, and hack-ass blogger, my favorite part of the night was when, from one-hundred miles and away via text, my lady gave me the courage to go over to Blame One and introduce myself. Indie artists push their own merch and man their own merch table, which a lot of people don’t realize, and Blame was no different. I went over and shook his hand and since my soft-spoken natural voice doesn’t play well in loud clubs I pretty much just handed dude my business card. Thankfully he either heard or read my lips when I said “this is me!” and he was real enough to say “oh shit!” and bring it in for a thug-hug.

Then I awkwardly slid away into the night. Nice work.

Even if I didn’t get to meet Blame One the show would’ve been a success for me. It had been awhile since I’ve seen a live hip-hop show and it was just what I needed during some shitty personal times. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it one-thousand times more, Chris and I are fans of hip-hop first. All of our blogging and subsequent promotion of said blogging will always take a back seat to our love for the music.

Support local/indie acts, buy music, go to shows, and awkwardly hand over your biz-cards to artists you write about and listen to. Simple rules to live by.

Meta hit me off with this earlier today when I still had Absolut & Tonic pumping through my system, but I’m completely recuperated now and glad to be bringing this to video to TECB for y’all.  Aside from promoting the crushing of freezers, Meta’s new video is his contribution in pushing the word of Dead Letter, the newly started urban arts brand based out of Rhode Island.

Those of you interested in obtaining a Dead Letter tee, get a hold of one of these cats before they’re out of your size.

Earlier at work my boss and I were chopping it up about hip-hop.  Our conversations are essentially strings of attempted recommendations that never amount to anything.  We’ll share a similar opinion every once in a while, but, for the most part, the typical back and forth goes down like so…

Boss: You should give Childish Gambino a listen.

Me: Who the what the fuck no.

Our talk is never constructive.  The music we suggest to each other is brushed off like flakes of dandruff — quickly and with a slight disgust.  At least it’s a two-way street, though.  Following that brief exchange was this…

Me: Rapping with Paul White may be the best album of 2011.

Boss: Who’s on it?

Me: A bunch of dudes. Danny Brown…

*CRICKETS*

Needless to say, our tastes differ.  He hates the new Freddie Gibbs mixtape; I hurry home to blog about the new Freddie Gibbs and Madlib project I caught wind of on my lunch break.  It’s just like that.

If I haven’t lost you by now, you’re a very special person.  And I thank you.  That said, I’ll get to the point — Freddie Gibbs & Madlib have pressed-up a vinyl EP titled Thuggin’, which is also the name of the track you see featured above.  Its main objective is to promote their upcoming album slated for an early 2012 release.  You can cop the vinyl EP via Stones Throw, but do so quickly as I’m not sure how limited this release is.

We’ll be having more news and/or music concerning the currently unnamed full-length Lib & Gibbs collaboration, so stay tuned.

Sure, it’s cool to catch wreck in The Phoenix, but don’t pretend like everything mentioned in the new article from Chris Conti hasn’t already been up on The Echo Chamber Blog.  Yeah, I’m getting cocky with it.  What other website supports RI hip-hop like we do?

If you even have an answer, I’ll kindly help you in getting off my plane.

But, before that happens, take a look above to see the shirt being worn by the Now Or Never boys (Meta P & Matty Mischief).  That’s the premiere tee from Dead Letter, whose Facebook fan page you can find here.  Like it.  Ship it.  Bury it.

TECB. NT.

For those of you not in the know, I had the opportunity to get up on 90.3 WRIU yesterday afternoon for DJ Primitive’s “Underground Sound.”  It was my first time in the studio and I definitely enjoyed my time as a host.  I know some of the TECB fans out there weren’t able to catch the full show or had problems with the reception, which is why I’m happy to hit you all off with the mp3 copy of the ninety-minute mix show.

You can give it a listen here:

And a download can be had by right-clicking and saving as, or via MediaFire if you’d prefer that..

This was another landmark moment for TECB, being able to rep for the site on a different forum than usual, and I’m greatly appreciative of Prim for allowing me to high-jack some airwaves on a radio station I grew up worshiping.

Enjoy, and let us know your thoughts on the show!

Less than twenty-four-hours after a mention of how I’m not crazy about writing in memoriam x obituary-like blog posts, I caught word of the passing of 40 Dash and have gone completely back on my words.  The news has hit particularly close to home for me, and, although I never had the opportunity to meet Phorty, his death has had me grieving as if he was close to me.

My heart goes out to Phorty, his family, and his friends.  He was a well-respected talent that will be missed.

Rest in peace.  And thank you for leaving us with your music.  ”Sinner” is raw as fuck.